A Cherished Storm
by Caisius
Summary: When strangers from distant lands invade Equestria in search of land and power, the ponies are put through obstacles and experiences that they've never been through before. And Rainbow Dash must discover a new meaning and purpose for her life RDxOC
1. Chapter 01: Another Day in Ponyville

I can't really think of what to say here... Well, this is my first MLP fanfic. I hope you all like longer chapters, because that's usually how I write. :P With that, I hope you all enjoy it! :)

* * *

**Chapter One: Another Day In Ponyville**

The sun shone bright in a cloudless, deep-blue sky. The wind blew calmly in the air, brushing everypony out and about with spring's cool and refreshing touch. The leaves on trees blew gently in the breeze, but held firm to their branches; that is, until a certain pony flew by at near-sonic speeds, pulling away half of the leaves and leading them away from their homes with harsh winds.

Rainbow Dash flew past freshly-budded trees, swerving in-between them as if they were part of an obstacle course. The wind blew in her face, stinging her eyes. But she didn't care, this was what she did, and she did it well. A smile formed on her face as she approached another tree, much larger than the previous dozen she had passed. This tree was a much greater obstacle, like a mountain among smaller hills, and it was just waiting to be climbed, asking to be dominated. Rainbow Dash flew forward faster, as if in response to the tree's plea. She eyed an opening in the tree's defenses; a small hole, about her size, that she could fit through. It would be difficult to pull off at her speed and angle, though. That just added to the fun. _And it'll be a lot more impressive!_ She thought as she picked up more speed.

She heard faint calls of her name coming from somewhere behind her; she ignored them and kept on course to the mountainous tree ahead of her. Her eyes stung and her vision blurred slightly around the edges, but she could see well enough to know she would reach the tree within a few seconds. Her smile widened, teeth bare. She narrowed her eyes at the pony-sized gap in the tree's branches. _Okay, time to do this!_

Within feet of the tree's trunk, Rainbow Dash turned herself sharply to the right, and slightly upward, turning her body to barely scrape the edge of a branch with the tip of her left wing. She gasped suddenly as she closed in on a previously-unseen limb protruding from the web of twigs and leaves. She put on a look of determination as she acted quickly to avoid the fast-approaching branch, pointing herself slightly above it, drawing back her wings and throwing out her forelegs and hind legs to either end of her to reduce her size. She closed her eyes as she past the obstacle, only opening them when she realized there was no pain from a collision. She had made it!

Rainbow quickly returned to her flying stance and spun around the tree, brushing away the leaves and sending them scattering in a tornado of vibrant color. _Hah! Couldn't stop me, could ya tree?_ She smiled at the tree as it wept away its leaves from her actions. She looked back over in the direction she had come; three figures were on a hilltop watching her, one of them hovering in the air beside the other two. She put on a triumphant smile and flew toward them.

As she drew closer to the figures, she noticed one of them jumping up and down in excitement. Rainbow Dash was amused by how easy the filly was to impress. _Hah, that wasn't even my best!_

"That was amazing, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said excitedly, continuing to jump up and down. Tank nodded at her.

Fluttershy looked at her and then nodded toward Rainbow Dash, smiling, "Oh yes, you are really good at flying..." She looked down to the ground, shuffling the grass slightly with one of her hooves, "but I don't think I can fly that well..."

Rainbow Dash sighed slightly, looking at the nervous mare in front of her, "Look, I'll go for another round, okay? Just... take some notes or something." With that, she took off to continue demonstrating her techniques.

* * *

"So, Applejack!" Pinkie Pie asked, hopping alongside said pony, "You bringing any delicious apple goodies for tomorrow's party?"

Applejack looked at the frolicking pink pony beside her with a raised eyebrow, "Didn't ya have a party yesterday?"

"Yup! And had one this morning for Gummy, too!"

"Fer Gummy?" Applejack asked.

"Yup! I thought the little guy grew his first tooth!" Pinkie said excitedly.

"You... thought? Did the little fella grow one or not?" Applejack asked.

"Nope, it was a false alarm."

Applejack stopped, "And... ya still had a party?"

"Why not?" Pinkie asked, stopping only long enough to look at her before hopping forward again excitedly. "So, you bringing any sweet apple treats for the party?"

Applejack shrugged and walked along side her pink friend again, "I suppose I could..."

"Great!" Pinkie exclaimed, cutting Applejack off, "What ya gonna bring? Huh? Huh? Huh? Oh! How about those delicious apple pies that you sometimes bake? Oh! And maybe caramel apples? Oh yeah, and how about... Um... What's that?" Pinkie pointed off in the distance.

A speck came at them in the distance, growing quickly to reveal a blue pony with a mane of many colors: Rainbow Dash. She flew at high speeds, gliding just feet off the ground, occasionally making corkscrewing motions to vary her flight pattern. She approached the two halted ponies with a grin on her face. With room still to spare, she lifted herself away from the ground, going into a giant loop that met back at the ground by Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

"Coming through!" she said as she passed the two ponies, a dust cloud erupting from the ground and following the blue pegasus. When the dust cleared, Applejack and Pinkie Pie saw that Rainbow Dash was already a good distance away, and circling back around high up in the air.

Applejack felt the top of her head and noticed that her hat had been blown off by the wind. She looked around, spotting it on the ground on the side of the dirt path. She walked over and picked it up by the brim with her teeth, swinging it back onto her head.

"Uh... What the hay's she doin'?" Applejack asked herself, slightly annoyed.

"She's flying, you silly filly," Pinkie answered happily.

"Yeah.. I can see that."

"You can?" Pinkie asked, confused, "Then why'd you ask?"

Applejack sighed and saw Rainbow landing by other ponies in the neighboring field, "Never mind that, let's go an' see what's goin' on over there that has her flyin' 'round where she could hurt somepony."

* * *

Rainbow Dash hovered above Fluttershy and Scootaloo, with Tank by her side. Fluttershy picked at the ground nervously with her hoof, and Scootaloo watched her curiously, waiting for her answer to Rainbow's question.

Rainbow Dash looked quietly at the other pegasus until she finally had enough of her silence, "So... did you see how I did any of that?"

Fluttershy looked up slightly from the ground where she was digging at, "Oh yes, I um.. I saw you flying."

Rainbow Dash landed on the ground and walked over to her, "Okay, you saw me flying. That's a start.. But did you see _how_ I flew?"

Fluttershy nodded slowly, "Yes, I um.. I think so."

Rainbow Dash hovered in the air and crossed her hooves, "Okay, then show me."

Fluttershy looked at the three around her before flapping her wings rapidly, raising herself a few feet off the ground before falling back down to solid land.

"Oh, please!" Rainbow Dash cried out, "Don't tell me that all you saw was my wings flapping!" Upon seeing Fluttershy's gaze fall back down to the ground, she sighed. "Look, sorry for yelling at ya.. It's been a long day..." she apologized for the outburst. "But.. you need to pay more attention to detail. Flying isn't about just flapping your wings; sure that's part of it, but the main thing to practice is your balance. If you're flying at high speeds, you're more likely to crash if you don't maintain a good balance."

"What's goin' on over here that has ya flyin' 'round all over the place?" Applejack asked, coming up behind Rainbow Dash and interrupting her explanation.

"Yeah, what's got you doing all sorts of neat tricks, Dashie?" Pinkie asked, coming up behind Applejack.

Rainbow turned to the approaching ponies, "Oh, hey again... Sorry about earlier; I may have gotten a bit too close to the path there..."

"I'd say," Applejack said, "Nearly blew me off my hooves; ya managed to get my hat, at least."

Rainbow looked at Applejack's hat and shrugged, "Eh, it looks fine to me. Anyway, I'm trying to teach Fluttershy here how to be a better flier."

Pinkie looked at Fluttershy, "I thought you knew how to fly!" she gasped, "Did you forget? Did something happen to you? Are you hurt?"

"Whoa there, Sugarcube, settle down now," Applejack said, calming Pinkie down, "She knows how ta fly," she said, more to Rainbow than Pinkie.

"Yeah, she knows how to fly..." Rainbow agreed, "But does she know how to fly _well_? Let's face it, if you put her in a race against anypony, she'd be left in the dust! Even Tank here could probably beat her in a race."

"Now that's just bein' unfair ta her," Applejack scolded, "I'm sure she could beat a flyin' turtle in a race..." She looked at Tank, "Uh... no offense."

Rainbow laughed, "Not if she doesn't learn to fly properly," she turned her attention toward Fluttershy, "Now, you need to learn to keep balance while in mid-flight. If you need to turn, tilt yourself in the direction you want to go, like this!" she spread her wings and tilted slightly in one direction, "Now, depending on how sharp of a turn you want to make, you'll tilt your body more or less than this.

"If you feel you're going too fast, and you're losing control of your flight, just stay calm and slow down. Simple as that!" she finished.

Fluttershy blinked at her, "Um... okay. If you say so."

"It's simple, don't worry!" Rainbow Dash said, lowering back down to the ground, "Now, go give it a try."

Fluttershy looked at everypony slowly, before finally bowing her head in defeat, "I... I don't think I can," she whispered.

Rainbow sighed heavily and moved behind her, pushing her up into the air, "Don't keep doubting yourself! If you just do what I told ya, you'll be fine!"

Fluttershy looked at everypony nervously again, but this time nodded her head and put on a worried look of determination, "Okay, I'll... I'll do my best."

Everypony nodded at her before she took off into the air, slowly, to mimic what she had seen Rainbow do several times that day.

Applejack walked up behind Rainbow Dash, a worried look in her eyes, "Somethin' tells me this is gonna end badly."

Rainbow just looked at her with a grin and shrugged, "If she remembers what I told her, everything's gonna be fine." She looked up at the fading speck of Fluttershy. _She'll do fine... I think..._

"Oh, no!"

Rainbow turned to see Pinkie glancing back at her own tail, with Applejack observing it as well. Rainbow observed closer and noticed it twitching. _Pinkie Sense? A twitching tail means..._

Pinkie gasped, "Things are gonna start falling!" she said, finishing Rainbow's thought. She ducked her head under her hooves and started to look around rapidly, in a vain attempt to protect herself.

Rainbow looked back at Fluttershy, who was now just a tiny speck high up in the sky, grin fully wiped from her face. _Okay... This could be bad._

* * *

The floor of the library was littered with books of all sizes and colors. Piles upon piles lay sorted amongst the scattered, unsorted books that carpeted the wooden floor. By the front door, two large piles of books, all brand-new, sat neatly and ready to be placed. They were the only organized things in the whole place. All-in-all, the library was a terrible mess.

Twilight Sparkle stepped between each of the books, careful not to step on any of them. She carefully dodged a pile of books, setting her sight on a pile at the other end of the room. After dodging a few more piles and an assortment of scattered, colorful books, she made it to her destination.

The book on top of the pile read _The Dangers In Everfree Forest_. Twilight used her magic to lift it up for examination, "Hmm... This should go on the References shelf," she looked back the way she came and sighed, "Over there..."

Twilight shrugged as a grin spread across her face. Her horn glowed with magic as she lifted books from their places on the floor. She began sorting through each of the books, placing them on the correct shelves, "History... Fiction... Magic... Another reference book... And this one's a non-fiction..." It was quicker, but still slow. "I wish Spike were here to help out.." she put on a smile at the thought, "But I'm sure he's happy helping Rarity, so I'll just have to do this by myself."

Rarity had recently gotten a large amount of orders from nobles in Canterlot for the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala, and she was worried that she could not finish them in time. She had explained the day before that she was extremely excited for the amount of work she had, since it would be great for her business and, in turn, her reputation; but she was going to have a tough time actually fulfilling all of the orders in the time allotted.

Spike's eyes had lit up at the opportunity to help Rarity, and had asked if he could take the day off to help her. Twilight had thought about it only for a moment before agreeing to let him help his crush. She knew how much it would mean to him, and it would be a great help to Rarity, so it didn't bug her too much that she would be reorganizing the books in the library all by herself. She didn't even think Spike realized that today was the day for work, but she wasn't about to diminish his excitement for that.

Twilight started on another pile of books, this time a pile of the new arrivals. She levitated the top book and read out the title, "History Of The Tribes: Origins," she flipped through a few pages in the book before closing it, "Okay, one for the 'History' section... Sound like an interesting read, though!"

After a time, her motions became more mechanical, and her thoughts went to other places. She thought about whether or not Spike would be enough to help Rarity get through the dozens of orders of dresses she had to craft, since the Grand Galloping Gala was in only two weeks. _Oh yeah, it is really soon!_ She smiled as she thought about the tickets she had gotten from the Princess in secret the month before. "One more week and I'll surprise the girls with their tickets. I think they'll be surprised! Spike, too... It was hard enough to keep them hidden from him... Oh gosh... I don't even know if I'll have time to go myself..."

After a while, Twilight snapped back to reality, noticing that she only had one more pile of books by the door, ready to sort. She blinked at the sight and breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, almost done..."

She sorted through the books just as easily as the others, stopping every now and then to skim through a few of them. Finally, one book remained on the now-clean floor. She picked it up with her magic to observe it and laughed softly to herself, "Daring Do and the Sea Serpent Shrine. I think Rainbow will like this one," she shrugged and placed it on the "Fiction" shelf with the other Daring Do books.

"All done!" she said happily, walking over to the table in the center of the room to sit down and rest. She crossed her hooves on the table and laid her head down, closed her eyes, and breathed in a deep sigh of relief.

A faint noise sounded outside. Twilight opened her eyes and looked around, "Hmm?" The sound grew louder and more distinct, "Wait... that sounds like screaming... Is that Fluttershy?" It got louder... and closer... and more distinct. It was Fluttershy. "Oh, no..."

Fluttershy's screaming stopped, replaced with a loud crashing sound as the library shook violently. Twilight panicked, looking around at all the shelves as books began to topple from their places back onto the floor. All it took was that initial crash, the vibration from hundreds of books hitting the floor provided the rest of the motion needed to create a domino effect.

When all was still and quiet again, Twilight looked on at the new mess, eyes wide with shock. Every book that she had spent hours sorting and placing was now on the floor.

Twilight groaned at the sight, a tear forming in her eye, "Not again!"

* * *

Outside the massive library tree, Fluttershy lay sprawled on the ground. A bare patch of wood showed on the trunk where she had crash-landed, the bark surrounding her.

Fluttershy attempted to rise, but fell back down from dizziness. She took a deep breath and looked around at the bark surrounding her, and up at the tree to notice the bare spot that the bark originated from; the landing had been anything but soft. She heard voices and looked away from the tree, noticing the spectating ponies coming her way, with Rainbow Dash in the lead as if it were a race; Applejack followed not far behind.

Rainbow was first to arrive, "Are you alright?" she asked in a worried voice.

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow and nodded her head slowly, "Yes... I think I'm fine..."

Rainbow saw the look in Fluttershy's still-spinning eyes and suppressed a laugh, "That's... good to... hear!"

Applejack caught up quickly and looked at Rainbow angrily, "Rainbow! There ain't no reason ta be laughin'."

Rainbow burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer, "Are you serious? Did you see how many spins she did?" she wiped her now-watering eyes as she tried to regain control of herself.

Applejack shook her head and ignored her, checking on Fluttershy, "You okay there, sugarcube?"

Fluttershy sat herself up a little straighter, "Yes... I'm fine, just a little dizzy..." she overheard Rainbow mutter something about her spinning and didn't think anything of it.

"Did anyone see how fast she flew?" Scootaloo asked aloud.

Pinkie nodded a few times, "Yeah, she almost flew as fast as Dashie!"

Rainbow Dash cut in, "I could have thought she was me... At least, until the point where she had to turn up..." she grinned, "After that she looked like Fluttershy, spinning out of control, and crashing into Twilight's house."

Scootaloo walked over to Fluttershy, who was still sitting on the ground, with Applejack still checking to see if she was alright, "So uh... How did you lose control?"

Rainbow walked up behind her, a knowledgeable smile painted across her face, "I think I can answer that," she said, walking over to Fluttershy, who was looking back at her like a student ready to learn. Rainbow cleared her throat, "I spotted three problems: One, there was a problem with your positioning," she spread her wings, tilting them up to show the correct positions, "If your have your wings like this, then you're not gonna plummet into the ground... You might wanna remember to start pulling up _before_ hitting the ground."

Fluttershy had her wings spread out, mimicking what Rainbow was showing her, "Okay..."

Rainbow nodded, "Yup, like that. The second problem I saw was when you lost control. As I said before, if you lose control, you should calm down and try to slow down enough to regain your balance... I, uh, think you forgot to do that."

Rainbow looked at Applejack, who was looking at her with eyes that said, 'I think she knows that.' Rainbow grinned, "And the third problem I spotted..." she paused for dramatic effect, the other ponies leaning forward, awaiting Rainbow's analysis. She grinned widely, "...that _that_ was in the way!" she pointed at Twilight's library tree and started laughing again. Applejack sighed.

The front door of the house opened up, revealing a mildly-annoyed, messy-maned Twilight Sparkle. She looked to the side of the tree, and noticed the ponies gathered around a bare patch of the trunk. She sighed and walked to them, noticing Fluttershy on the ground behind them. "What happened? Are you okay, Fluttershy?"

Pinkie Pie attempted to answer for her, "She was flying very fast!"

Scootaloo continued, "She lost control!"

Rainbow Dash finished, "She crashed."

Fluttershy looked down at the ground and sighed, "I-I'm sorry. I'm terrible at flying..."

Rainbow shrugged, "Eh, don't sweat it! It takes a lot of practice, and a lot of patience. Keep practicing and someday you'll almost be as good as me!"

Pinkie jumped in, excitedly, "Oh, oh! When that happens, we can throw you a 'Better Flier Fluttershy' party!" she hopped around the ponies, naming off a list of supplies they'd need. She gasped suddenly, "Should we have a 'Pre-Better-Flier-Fluttershy' party, too?"

Twilight smiled slightly at that, "I think that would be fun.." the smile faded slightly, "Anyway, tell me how that turns out! I need to go clean up the mess inside now..."

Applejack helped Fluttershy stand up and the two ponies walked over to Twilight. "We're all willin' ta help ya clean up the mess. It's our fault, anyway."

Twilight's smile returned, "Thanks! I would really appreciate it."

Rainbow backed away from the group slowly, hoping to go unnoticed.

"And where do ya think yer goin'?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow chuckled nervously, "Oh... Uh, I forgot that today was, um, Cloud-Cleanup Day!"

Applejack raised an eyebrow and looked around the sky, "I don't see any clouds."

Rainbow launched into the air quickly and formed a rain cloud above them, returning to her place by the ponies almost as quickly as she had left, pretending nothing had ever happened, "Oh, would you look at that!" she laughed nervously, "There's one right there! It'd be a shame if it rained on a day that was supposed to be sunny... I wouldn't be doing my job and keeping the clouds clear!" she smiled innocently at the other ponies.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Oh, it's fine, Rainbow. Don't worry about it. I know how important your job is to you!" she smiled and turned around, as if ready to walk back inside, "The rest of us will clean up the books. Some of them looked like they were in pretty bad shape... I even think I saw a ripped page in one of the Daring Do books..."

Rainbow gasped aloud and dashed into the air, rivaling Fluttershy's earlier speeds, and spun around the cloud she had formed. It disappeared behind a wall of colors, and, by the time she was finished, the cloud had disappeared. She flew down by Twilight and chuckled lightly, "What cloud? I don't see any clouds!"

She turned Twilight around and began to push her into the house, "Come on, let's go. I'd love to help you clean up!"

The rest of the ponies followed, laughing.

* * *

Spike held the thread in his right claw as steady as he could manage, squinting his eyes at it and the needle he held in his other claw. All concentration was drawn to those two objects. He eased the thread closer to the needle, aiming for the tiny loop at the end. Sweat began to drip down the sides of his face as the thread inched closer to its destination. Closer and closer it came, until... "Oh, darn it!" he missed.

He sighed. He had been trying this for the past half hour, and that was the closest he had gotten. He dropped his arms, "Why is it so hard to thread a needle?" he asked, annoyed with the objects.

Rarity was standing by a counter, working on another dress; the third of the day, Spike thought. She turned her head to acknowledge the baby dragon, "Oh, Spike. Keep trying, dear. You'll get it soon!" she said, in an attempt to encourage him, "Just try to keep your hooves... uh, claws steady when threading the needle."

Spike nodded his head and steadied, ready to prove himself to Rarity. He brought the needle and thread up to head level, only an inch away from his face, and narrowed his eyes so that only those two objects were in his view. He slowly brought the thread closer to the needle, stopping when his claw shook to re-steady. He checked the positioning of the thread in comparison to the loop on the needle and nodded his head slowly. The thread came closer and closer, until... "_Yes!_" he yelled out in celebration, the needle successfully threaded in one claw.

He jumped up and down, excited by his accomplishment, and accidentally stepped on the spool of thread laying right beside him. He slipped fell down hard on his back and gasped. He dropped the needle and thread! He searched the ground around him frantically and found the fallen objects... sitting beside one another... undone. He groaned out loud and dropped his head in defeat.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom walked into the room, discussing new ideas for them to gain their cutie marks.

Apple Bloom sighed out loud, "Why do we have ta do all the plannin' by ourselves? Scootaloo should be here helpin' us, instead of cheerin' on Rainbow Dash," she vented, "I mean, all she's doin' is teachin' Fluttershy how ta fly..."

"Fly better, you mean. Fluttershy already knows how to fly," Sweetie Belle corrected.

"Whatever. I still think she should be helpin' us. I mean, we're not gonna get our cutie marks any quicker with her not helpin' us."

Sweetie Belle shrugged, "You know how much she looks up to Rainbow Dash. I don't think we'd be able to convince her either way."

Rarity turned her head away from her work to look at the two fillies, "Oh, yes, I would be there, too, cheering on Fluttershy, if it were not for all these orders," she turned her head to look at her work again, "I mean, honestly! I don't think I'll be done for another week!"

Apple Bloom turned to look back at Sweetie Belle, "I say we go an' find Scootaloo! If she can't be here ta help us come up with ways to get our cutie marks, then we can be there!"

Sweetie Belle nodded her head, "Good idea. Let's go!"

As they began to walk out, they continued their discussion of plots to gain their cutie marks.

"Oh, I know! We could try flyin'. Just need ta borrow Scootaloo's helmet an' find a cannon.." Apple Bloom suggested.

Sweetie Belle slapped her leg lightly with the side of her hoof, "Are you crazy? Where would we even get a cannon?"

"Well," Apple Bloom began, "I think Pinkie Pie would have somethin' like that.. And if not, we could make..." her voice faded behind the sound of a closing door.

Rarity sighed and smiled at their continuing attempts to find their cutie marks. She laughed softly, "One day they will learn..."

She looked over at Spike, who was attempting to thread the needle once again. She noticed the concentration on his face as he stared solely at that needle. The thread came closer and closer, until... "Hooray!" Rarity yelled out, cheering for him.

Spike looked over at her, not realizing she was watching, and blushed. He looked down at the threaded needle, as if he didn't realize what he had done, and then cheered along with her.

Rarity smiled at him, "Good job, Spike! I knew you would pull through!"

He stopped his cheering after a second, looking down and feeling his stomach, "Oh, no..."

He spat out a rolled piece of parchment in a spread of green flame, catching it in mid-air. He blinked at his hand, holding the parchment and not the threaded needle. He looked down at the ground and saw the thread and needle, laying beside one another undone, and sighed in defeat. He opened the parchment to read it silently, his eyes skimming through the words on the paper. He lowered the letter and looked at Rarity, who was looking at him curiously, "I have to go, Rarity. I'm sorry I can't help more... But I think Twilight will want to see this."

Rarity nodded at him, "That's quite alright, Spike. I really do appreciate your help."

Spike nodded at her, with a wide smile on his face, before bowing, "You are very welcome, milady!" He turned to face the entrance and walked out.

Rarity looked at the door as it closed behind him, then down at the separated needle and thread on the floor. She shrugged and turned back to her work. She continued stitching the green dress she had been working on with her sewing machine, activated by her magic. She sighed, "Well, back to work."


	2. Chapter 02: The Twilight Express

**Chapter Two: The Twilight Express**

Rainbow Dash picked up the large, blue-covered book off the ground. It was surprisingly heavy. She turned it over and read the faded words, "Marester's Dictionary..." she looked around and saw an open spot on the shelf in front of her, just barely out of reach. She shrugged and flew up to meet the vacant spot and placed the dictionary in it. She sighed with relief, "Finished!"

She turned to see Twilight replacing a book on a top shelf with her magic. Other than her, Twilight, and Tank, who was sleeping in the corner of the room by the stairs, his flight gear removed and placed by the door, the room was lifeless.

It was pretty late by that point, all the other ponies had gone home to handle some chores before resting for the night, leaving Rainbow to help with the clean-up job. It had annoyed her in the beginning, but she wasn't about to leave just because everypony had to go. She didn't have anything else to do that day, so she figured that she could stay to help. It might even score her the next Daring Do novel! In the end, that was probably what settled her mind.

She flew down and sat at the table in the middle of the room to rest for a moment. She looked around at all of the books, now neatly-placed on the shelves surrounding the room, "I never thought putting books away would be so much work.."

Twilight walked over to join her at the table, and sat down at the other end, "I never expected to hear something like that coming from YOU, Rainbow!" she smirked.

"It's not like it was tough," Rainbow quickly defended herself, "It's just...repetitive. Picking up a book, putting it on the shelf. Picking up another, putting IT on the shelf.. Not exactly the most exciting work."

Twilight nodded her head in agreement, "It is a lot of work, but I enjoy it!" She looked around the room, smiling, "I reorganize them every time I get a new shipment in, which is usually every few months."

Rainbow shook her head, "That's why I'd never want that many books.." She looked at the Daring Do novel that she had placed on the table during the clean-up, and grabbed it, pulling it toward her. She patted the top of the cover gently with her hoof, "I like the Daring Do books.. They're all I need.. Not all of those," she pointed at the literature-filled shelves.

"You should really give some other works a try, Rainbow. I'm sure you would enjoy them!" Twilight said, getting up from the table and walking to browse the various tomes along the walls, "What interests you?"

Rainbow Dash sighed slightly at her efforts and looked at the Daring Do novel intently, lost in thought. After a moment, she grinned, "Something with action! And adventure!"

Twilight stopped searching the shelves and glanced at Rainbow, "There's still plenty of volumes in the Daring Do series to keep you busy with that genre," she turned back to the shelves and continued her search, "No, I think you would benefit from reading different genres. That doesn't mean you have to stop reading the Daring Do series. It's just... good to broaden your interests. You know?" she looked back at Rainbow, who had the Daring Do novel opened in front of her. She sighed and continued on with her search. "Maybe history..." she whispered to herself.

A few moments past as Twilight searched the massive wall of literature, pulling each out to observe before putting them back in. They weren't bad books, to Twilight at least, but they'd quickly bore a pony like Rainbow Dash. Twilight pulled out another, before smiling, "History Of The Tribes: Origins," she read aloud.

The book was the first in a series that told of how the different pony tribes came to be who they were, and how they eventually came together to found Equestria, united as a whole. The first in the series, in particular, told of how each of the pony tribes came to be.. At least, how it was thought to have happened.

Twilight looked over to see if Rainbow was at all interested. Not surprisingly, she was still reading from Daring Do, her head propped up on her hoof as she leaned over it. She turned the page.

Twilight sighed and walked to the table, the history book levitating in front of her. She placed it down gently on the table in front of the oblivious pony. Rainbow turned the page again and continued reading.

Twilight cleared her throat, warranting a glance up from Rainbow. She pushed the tome forward with her magic and Rainbow eyed it for a second, before sighing.

Rainbow picked it up and read the title aloud, "History of the Tribes: Origins..." she lowered it slowly and looked at Twilight, who was smiling at her nervously. "Um... that doesn't sound very action-y... OR adventure-y..."

"It has a lot of very interesting things in it, though. I only skimmed through the first few pages. But from what I can tell, it talks about how all the pony tribes became who they are today.. How the Unicorn ponies obtained their horns and learned magic. How the Pegasi ponies sprouted their wings. And how the Earth ponies grew a connection with the land and its creatures.

"It also talks of the battles between the different tribes... It could be a bit violent, I haven't read it." Twilight finished.

Rainbow looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "How do you know that if you haven't read it.."

Twilight smiled, "The Table of Contents."

"Oh.. right," she placed the book down on top of her Daring Do novel and stared at it for a moment, contemplating whether to read it or not. She shrugged slightly and opened it to the first chapter.

She looked up at Twilight, who was anxiously awaiting her verdict, before reading aloud, "Chapter One... The beginning.." she recited, glancing back up to see Twilight wearing a toothy smile. She shook her head and read on, "In the inhospitable frozen lands far north of the land later known as Equestria, life was a rare phenomenon. With ice-cold winds that could chill to the bone, it was a wonder that any life existed at all. The land was barren of plant life; the mountainous terrain blanketed in snow several feet deep. It is surprising that anypony came to exist in such a desolate environment..."

Rainbow placed the book down and closed it, "It uh..."

Twilight interrupted her, "Did you like it?" she asked with an anxious smile.

Rainbow rolled her eyes slightly, "It was okay.. But all it did was talk about mountains.. Where's the action? Where's the adventure? Nah, I don't know how much I'd like it... I'd rather read the Daring Do stories." she pushed the publication off of her story and looked down at it in thought.

Twilight looked at her, eyes narrowing and ears drooping in defeat. She sighed and began to reach for her choice of literature. Rainbow placed her hoof down on it, causing Twilight to snatch hers back slightly in confusion. Rainbow moved her hoof and looked down at the title one more time before sighing, "I don't know if I'll read it... But I'll take it if it means that much to you."

Twilight's ears perked up again and she smiled, "Alright then, good enough."

She walked to a small closet space underneath the staircase and disappeared, returning a moment later with a small shoulder bag levitating in front of her, "Sorry, but I lost my saddlebag. This bag will do okay, I think," she placed the bag on the table and placed the history book in it with her magic. She pushed the bag toward the center of the table with her hoof.

Rainbow glanced at it for a moment before looking back down at her novel, page in hoof, ready to turn. Her eyes rolled over the text covering half of the remaining page before she finally closed it. She pulled the shoulder bag toward her and placed her prized story in it, beside the other book.

She stood up and stretched, her wings erecting for a moment before returning to their normal, folded positions, "It's pretty late... I should get back home. Bed's calling me."

Twilight yawned her agreement, covering her mouth with her hoof, "It is late.. I still have a few more things to take care of before I can even consider sleep. Thank you for your help, Rainbow."

"Eh, no problem. I had nothing else to do, anyway," Rainbow said as she grabbed Tank's flight gear and made her way across the room to said tortoise.

Tank heard the approaching pony and raised his head slightly out of his shell, yawning. Rainbow grinned at him and began to strap on his flight gear; the rotor first, and then his goggles. Tank shook his head slightly, in an attempt to get reacquainted with his headgear.

"Alright, I'm heading off. I'll see ya later, Twilight," Rainbow said as she walked to the door and opened it.

Spike came barging in at a hurried pace and ran into Rainbow, knocking them both to the ground, "Ow..." they said in unison.

Rainbow shook herself and got up quickly, looking at the baby dragon on the ground, who was trying to pick himself back up as well, "What's the rush, Spike? Besides the fact it's late..."

Spike, now on his feet, picked up a piece of rolled parchment and stared at the rainbow-maned pony, "Gosh, I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash! I was just in a hurry to... Where's Twilight?"

Rainbow nodded over her shoulder, "I think she went upstairs."

Spike nodded and hurried past her, stopping only long enough to say goodbye.

Rainbow and Tank looked at each other before shrugging and flying off.

* * *

It was dark outside; a full moon shrouded by stray clouds provided just enough light for Rainbow to see. It was quiet out; not even a breeze sounded in the trees around town.

Rainbow Dash and Tank continued their flight home, slowly to let Tank keep up. Rainbow didn't mind the slower speeds as much as she once had. She loved Tank, even if he wasn't the fastest pet around. Even with his flight gear, he was still much slower than she usually was. No, it was more the fact that he was as loyal to her as she was to her friends, minus the harmless joking that she would do from time to time. Though, she was perhaps slightly impatient at the slower speeds tonight; she was tired and wanted to sleep.

Rainbow yawned as she floated in the air, waiting for Tank to catch back up. She felt a slight tickle at her ear and patted it softly with her hoof, not thinking anything of it. Then it came again; but this time, she could hear something... She looked at Tank, _That doesn't sound like his flight gear..._ She looked around, trying to locate the source of the noise. _Over there? _She floated toward the sound, and it grew more distinct. It sounded like another pony... It was talking. _Who would be out at this time of night?_ She looked down at herself and at Tank, _Besides us.._

Tank finally caught up, his rotor blades cutting through the air as silently as a soft breeze through open sky. Rainbow turned to him and whispered, "Hey Tank, I need you to go home without me. Something's up, and I need to see what it is." Tank looked at her, confused. Rainbow sighed, "I hear somepony over there... behind those trees. I don't want ya to have to wait for me. I'll be home soon to get that gear off ya."

Tank slowly nodded at her, showing his understanding, and continued on his way to Rainbow's home in the sky.

Rainbow watched him go for a moment before more words came muffled from behind the trees. Rainbow started toward the wooden barriers with leaves, "Okay. Time to see who the hay this is.."

She approached the trees and hid behind them, quiet enough to keep from being noticed. She slid along the trunk of the largest one, and peaked around the corner.

"Darn it... Why won't my wings lift me up?" a young filly complained to herself quietly.

Rainbow's eyes went wide, _What's Scootaloo doing here? She shouldn't be out this late.. _She smirked, though, at the young filly's eagerness. She continued to watch for a bit as Scootaloo flapped her wings vigorously, and sighed when the filly slumped to the ground, defeated, and complaining.

"It's no use.. I'll never be as good a flier as Rainbow Dash.." Scootaloo sighed.

Rainbow rolled her eyes slightly and grinned as she stepped out from behind the tree, still not seen as she approached the sulking filly.

Scootaloo continued her complaining, "How am I supposed to be even half as good as her if I can't even fly AT ALL?"

"Keep at it, kid, and you'll be able to fly someday."

Scootaloo shot up from the ground, looking around her, until she finally spotted Rainbow behind her, "Rai...Rainbow!" she stuttered as she straightened herself up. "What are you doing here?"

Rainbow shrugged, "I was heading home, then I heard a tree talking. Now.. trees don't usually talk, so I had to investigate. Turns out, the tree was you," Her grin grew wider, "Which makes me wonder.. Why are YOU here? Shouldn't you be at home?"

Scootaloo sighed, "Yeah, I guess..." An awkward silence surrounded them for a moment before she spoke again, "So... uh.. Did you hear any of that?"

Rainbow shook her head, "Nope.. Well.. maybe a little," she dropped the grin and walked to Scootaloo, "You shouldn't give up so easy. You'll get it if you keep it up. Remember what I said today? You need to strengthen your wings so they can lift you. And if you don't keep practicing, it'll take longer to do that. Fluttershy was like you at your age, but look where she is now."

Scootaloo groaned, "But she's STILL not a great flier!"

Rainbow brought her hoof up to her face, shaking her head, "Okay.. bad example.. Look, just keep at it, okay? Practicing will strengthen your wings, remember? Once you can lift yourself off the ground, you'll soar."

Scootaloo lifted her head up, smiling now, "Yeah! You must have practiced for a long time to get as good as you are now."

"It took a lot of practice," Rainbow said, half lying to cheer the little filly up, "Anyway, it's pretty late right now, and I'm guessing your parents don't know where you are.. It's not cool to keep them worrying."

Scootaloo's eyes widened as a realization came to her, "Oh, no.. They're going to be mad.. I've been out here since it was day.. I didn't even think about how mad they'd be.."

Rainbow laughed, "Hey, don't worry about it, I've got ya covered. They would be mad if you were out alone.. But who has to tell them that? As far as they know, you've been with me the whole time, and that's what I'm gonna tell them. I'll just explain to them that you wanted help with flying, and I offered to help after helping Fluttershy."

Scootaloo's smiled widely at the thought of her hero helping her, and showed her excitement with a series of jumps around said hero, "Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash! I'm sure they'll listen to you."

Rainbow put on a grin and motioned her head back toward the road, "Yeah, no problem. Let's get you home."

* * *

Rainbow yawned as she walked the young filly home. It was getting really late by now, and a cool wind was beginning to pick up strength. She looked down at Scootaloo as the young filly walked on with an excited smile on her face.

The two ponies passed a few homes, each one vacant of light, before they finally reached Scootaloo's home. It was an average home with beige-painted walls and light-brown wooden frames around it; a red tiled roof topped off the two-story house. The windows glowed a warm, inviting yellow.

"Well, it looks like they're still awake," Rainbow looked at Scootaloo before adding, "Let's go."

Rainbow walked up to the red, wooden door, Scootaloo following behind, and knocked on it. The scraping of furniture on wooden floors sounded muffled through the door. It opened to reveal a stallion with a light-brown coat and black mane. He looked at Rainbow Dash for a moment with tired, blue eyes before seeing Scootaloo behind her.

His eyes widened and he put on a heavy frown as he eyed the filly hiding behind Rainbow. His gaze turned toward the rainbow-maned mare as his eyes narrowed, "What is the meaning of this? Where has my daughter been all this time?"

Rainbow shrunk slightly beneath the father's piercing eyes. _Hah... There's no reason to be nervous.. All I have to do is tell him that she was in good hooves, and all will be good.._ She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when a pony with an orange coat and purple mane appeared in the door beside the father; obviously Scootaloo's mother. She eyed Rainbow like a hawk ready for dinner.

Rainbow gulped and chuckled nervously, before shaking herself and standing up straight. She looked back at Scootaloo, who was hiding behind her hind leg, shrunken under her parents gaze. She put on the best, most polite smile she could manage and turned to the angry parents, "Hi there, uh.. Scootaloo's parents! Your daughter was out with me while I taught her how to strengthen her wings so she could fly. She was safe and in good..." she stopped as she noticed the father's narrowing, razor-sharp eyes.

"You're telling me that you took my daughter," he glanced at his wife a moment before turning back to Rainbow, teeth now bare in a snarl, "OUR daughter... To go teach her how to fly in the middle of the night?"

"But..." Rainbow protested.

"And!" the father shouted, "You don't even bother to tell me or more poor wife about it? She has been worried sick. And I've been out at least three times looking for Scootaloo. Where were you two this whole time?"

"Well, we were..." Rainbow tried to answer.

"It doesn't even matter," the mother joined in, looking at Rainbow Dash, "You were very irresponsible for keeping her out so late. You should be ashamed of yourself! Scootaloo? Come inside, now."

Scootaloo inched past her idol and turned to her slowly, her head lowered, "Sorry, Rainbow Dash.."

"Wait," the father asked, "You're Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow's smile, which had previously deteriorated, came back across her face, "The one and only!"

He nodded his head once, his eyes still narrowed in on her, "Yes, I should of figured as much..." he mumbled, "We've heard Scootaloo talk a lot about you. She really admires you."

"Yes," the mother joined in, "And perhaps we should talk to her about her choice of 'idols.'"

Rainbow's face went blank, "But I.."

"No arguing!" the fuming mother exclaimed, "You are clearly a bad influence on her, keeping her out this late..." she finished and nodded to the father.

Rainbow looked at Scootaloo, who wore apologetic eyes, before the door slammed shut in her face. She flinched and blinked a few times before sighing, "That didn't turn out quite the way I thought it would..."

She walked a few steps away from the door. Looking back at it one more time, she shrugged and flew off in the direction of her home.

The wind whipped against her face as she flew, her eyes stinging from the sharp, cool air. She shook her head and continued on.

A voice echoed in the near-silent night from the the streets below her. She slowed down and scanned the ground, squinting at the shadows to spot the owner of the voice. Another voice replied to the first in a whisper. Rainbow flew down a little closer to get a better look, _Who is that? Isn't there enough ponies out tonight?_

She spotted the owners of the two voices and leaned forward in an attempt to identify them. A gust blew strongly from behind her, causing her to lose balance. She tried to compensate for the added pressure against her, and heard a small snapping sound, followed by a lightening around her neck. Her eyes went wide as she felt for the strap of her shoulder bag. It was gone!

She looked below and gasped as she spotted the bag tumbling down to the ground, straight for the shadowed figures. "Oh, no!" she said in a whispered shout, and flew after the falling bag of books.

The figures grew larger in shape, just as the bag grew smaller. She sped up in an attempt to catch them. The bundle grew slowly larger in size, but the figures grew much faster. _Not going to make it! _she thought as the books targeted the smaller of the two shadows.

She stopped as the books struck their target, earning a loud "Ouch!" from it. She blinked at the voice; it sounded very familiar... It was Spike! _Wait... if he's Spike, then that means that... _She heard the other voice call out, asking if Spike was alright. _...the other is Twilight? What the hay are they doing out here?_

After checking on the state of Spike, Twilight bent down to look at the fallen objects. She illuminated the ground with magic from her horn and saw two books, beside an open, broken-strapped bag, "Wait... 'Daring Do and the Sea Serpent Shrine?'" she read the other one, "'History of the Tribes: Origins?'" she looked up and saw Rainbow flying down to meet her and Spike, "Rainbow? What are you doing out here this late?"

Rainbow landed, chuckling to herself, and quickly scooped the books up into the bag. She tied the loose ends of the strap together and laid the bag neatly at her hooves, "Uh.. sorry about that, guys.. Was kinda heading home, then the strap on that bag of yours broke... Now I'm here.. At least the books are okay!"

"Yeah, because they had something soft to land on," Spike said, rubbing his head.

"That still doesn't answer why you're out here now," Twilight said, "You left the library an hour ago. You should be home now."

Rainbow sighed, "Well.. I heard Scootaloo and went to see why she was out. I took her home and got yelled at by her parents.. They weren't very grateful.. So I started to go home before I heard you two. The strap on that bag snapped and fell off of me and landed on Spike. So now I'm here.." She crossed her hooves and looked at Twilight, "So, why are YOU out? It seems a little bit late for a joy-walk.."

Twilight chuckled lightly at that, "Well, we're heading to the train station to see if we can ask for a ride to Canterlot."

Rainbow looked at her and blinked, "Isn't it a weird time to catch a train to Canterlot... Why not go tomorrow? Ya know, when it's light out?"

"That's what I was telling her, but she just insisted we go tonight.." Spike stated.

"Spike, we've talked about this. The Princess said to come at our earliest convenience..."

Spike groaned, "It may be your earliest convenience.. But I'm normally asleep at this time of night... Face it, Twilight. You're tired, and I'm tired.. Why couldn't we just sleep and wake up early tomorrow to catch the first train?"

Twilight sighed, "Because we can ride the train through the night, get some rest while on it, and be at the castle bright and early tomorrow to see the Princess. Now come on, we need to go."

Spike sighed and followed the now-moving purple pony, and Rainbow followed slowly behind them, flying a few feet off the ground.

Rainbow caught up, "So uh.. What's so important that's forcing you to go to Canterlot tonight?"

"Princess Celestia requested me to come there." Twilight said, still concentrating on the road ahead.

"I still don't think she meant tonight.." Spike complained again.

"Spike," Twilight said sternly, "Please, read that letter for me again."

Spike sighed and brought out the letter. He cleared his throat,

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I have matters in which to discuss with you personally.

I hereby request your attendance at the castle here in Canterlot when you have time to spare.

I will speak to you more about the reasons for your visit when you arrive.

Please, come at your earliest convenience.

Signed, Princess Celestia"

Twilight turned her head to look at Spike, "You see? 'Earliest convenience.' She has never said that before in any of her former letters. Something's wrong, and I must do my part to be there to help her in any way I can."

Spike sighed and hung his head in defeat, "But.. I'm so tired..."

Twilight sighed and stopped in her tracks, lowering herself down for Spike, "Here, hop up," she said gently to him, "I know you're tired and need to sleep. You are a baby dragon, after all. You'll be able to get a good night's sleep when we're on the train to Canterlot... But for now, go ahead and rest on my back." Spike smiled at the invite and obliged.

The two began moving again, and Rainbow followed. Twilight looked over her shoulder, "Where are you going?"

Rainbow sped up to be beside her friend, "I can't just let you two go off to Canterlot alone.. I'm going with you!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you want to?"

Rainbow laughed, "Sure, why not? It'll be fun," she flew out in front of Twilight, facing her and traveling backwards, "Besides! How could I pass up an opportunity to talk to the Wonderbolts again?"

Twilight smiled, "Thank you, Rainbow. With Spike sleeping here, I could probably use the added company."

"Don't mention it!" Rainbow answered with a smile.

A few seconds past in silence; both ponies traveling in the darkness of the roads. The only sounds were that of the wind blowing through the trees, and Spike's snoring as he slept on Twilight's back.

"So..." Rainbow began, breaking the silence, "I didn't know trains took off at night."

Twilight turned to her with a smile, "Oh, they don't."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her, "Then.. How do you plan on getting to Canterlot?"

Twilight's smile turned into a proud one as she spoke, "The Princess's letter will be our ticket. They won't hinder the progress of royalty, or, in this case, their subjects."

All went quiet again after that. Rainbow continued to travel alongside her friend as she thought about events from that day; it had been fairly eventful. She had spent the early hours of the day and part of the afternoon trying to teach Fluttershy how to control herself at faster speeds, and giving her advice to strengthen her wings so she wouldn't tire out after so much use, _That ended well..._ She had helped cleanup the mess in Twilight's library home from Fluttershy's crash landing, _That was more work than I thought it would be... _She looked at Twilight, who was smiling to herself, _She has WAY too many books... _After all of that cleanup, she had left and... She gasped, _Tank!_ "Hey, I have to go handle some stuff real quick. I'll catch up!" she said as she checked to see how well her shoulder bag would hold up. Satisfied, she took off back toward town.

Twilight blinked as she watched Rainbow Dash fly off, "Um.. That was random," she looked ahead at the train station in the distance and sighed, "Well... So much for company."

She continued on her way.

* * *

Twilight sat on the ground against the cold, stone walls of the train station. The wind had gotten colder, now, and she shivered slightly at its touch. Spike lay against the wall beside her, snoring as he slept, seemingly unaffected by the cold air.

She looked around at the passing ponies as they prepared the train for departure, some still yawning from having been recently woken up. A few threw annoyed glances at her as they walked by. She didn't think anything of it as she, herself, yawned as sleep tried to welcome her. She shook her head to rid it of sleep's embrace and looked on as ponies carried things onto boxcars at the end of the train. She concentrated on the objects; they looked like wooden crates.

Uninterested, she turned her head to the sky to stargaze. The different constellations sparkled in her eyes. She knew all of them, and she would normally study them for hours; they were so fascinating to her, after all. But something bothered her. _What is wrong that would have the princess asking for me to come to Canterlot at my 'earliest convenience?' Whatever it is... She couldn't tell me in the letter.._

She shook her thoughts away and looked at the moon, now nearing the middle of the sky. She had been there for a hour already, and it was nearing midnight. She looked toward town and spotted nothing in the sky. Not even a silhouette of her winged friend,_ I guess she decided not to come.. I understand, it is late anyway.. She probably saw her bed and went straight to sleep, she did say she had been giving flying lessons for several hours today.. So she was probably very tired. _She looked over at the sleeping dragon beside her and sighed, _Poor Spike, he's tired, too. Maybe we should of waited until morning to go..._

"Miss?"

Twilight caught herself as her head began to fall, "Huh? What happened?" she looked up to see a pony with a conductor's uniform on. Stitched on the front of his uniform was what was presumably his name. Twilight squinted her eyes in the dark to read it, "Oh, I'm sorry Mr... Boxcar?"

Mr. Boxcar grunted, "You were sleeping, I think, Miss Twilight."

Twilight stood up and laughed softly, "Sleeping? Oh, no.. I was just.. thinking."

Mr. Boxcar stared at her blankly, a small grin forming on his face, "Miss Twilight, most ponies I know don't snore while they think."

Twilight's eyes went wide and her cheeks warmed, "S...snoring? I don't snore, Mr. Boxcar... sir."

As if on cue, Spike snored loudly, gaining a look from both ponies. Mr. Boxcar smirked before turning back to Twilight, his face now carrying seriousness, "In any case, the train will be ready for departure in five minutes. Will you, or your friend, be ready to leave? I'd really prefer if there were no delay. Most of my employees are tired enough as is.."

"Yes, sir!" Twilight nearly shouted happily, before lowering her voice when ponies looked at her strangely, "Um.. We'll be ready, sir!"

"Good," the conductor said, "Even if you are the personal student to Princess Celestia, we won't wait for you. We have deliveries that we were to deliver tomorrow, but we'll handle that tonight, since we're all awake now."

Twilight nodded her understanding, "Yes, sir. We'll be ready. Thank you, sir, for all the work that you, and your team, are doing for us."

Mr. Boxcar stifled a yawn, "Yeah, yeah.. Just remember that we won't hesitate to leave you behind if you're not ready." With a yawn, he walked off toward the train to help with crates.

Twilight scanned the sky again for Rainbow and spotted no pony. She sighed. She had actually hoped that Rainbow would come, after her initial offer. It really would've been nice to talk to somepony, other than a sleeping, snoring, baby dragon, who she didn't think would be awake to talk to for awhile anyway. She looked at the sleeping Spike against the wall and shook her head with a small smile, _Yup, he'll be tough to wake up.. Oh well._

She walked over to Spike and nudged him gently on his shoulder, "Spike.. You need to get up one more time, the train's about to leave," he didn't budge, so she tried again, "Spike.. Come on, we have to go," he pushed her away, mumbling something softly, _Did he just call me mommy? _She rolled her eyes and nudged him again, this time slightly harder, "Spike, wake up!"

Spike's eyes darted open as he shot up, away from the wall, "Huh? What?" he looked at Twilight and groaned, "Twilight, can I just have fifteen more minutes?"

The conductor called out, "Miss Twilight, we're ready to depart! Hurry up, if you would!"

Twilight shook her head, "No, Spike, it's time to go. You can have fifteen more minutes plus several hours more on the train."

Spike reluctantly stood up and stretched, "Well.. That sounds more like it! Maybe they'll have comfortable seats to sleep on," he walked past Twilight, toward the train. Twilight followed.

At the door, Twilight scanned the sky one more time for a glimpse of Rainbow Dash... And spotted her in the distance. She was just a tiny black spec against the dark-blue, moon-lit sky. Well, she thought it was her, at least..

"All aboard, Miss Twilight," Mr. Boxcar said from inside the train, "We're not staying here all night for you."

Twilight looked at him, "But, sir, my friend is coming. She'll be here really soon," she pointed at the growing spec in the distance, and the conductor stuck his head out to see.

He shrugged, "Is she here right now?"

Twilight sunk her head, "No.."

"Then she'll just have to catch up, because we're leaving now. Now all aboard that's going aboard!"

Twilight thought about protesting again, but when she looked back up to face Mr. Boxcar, he looked at her with tired, annoyed eyes, "Okay.."

She took the steps up into the train and turned around to face the still-open door, _Maybe she'll get here before the door..._ The door closed, _...closes. Well, so much for that hope._

She walked down the aisle of the passenger car and spotted Spike laying comfortably on one of the cushioned seats. She took a seat across the aisle from him and sat at the window. She felt the train vibrate as it started moving. She sat back against the seat and closed her eyes to welcome sleep.

A minute past; Twilight was nearly asleep when a loud thump sounded on the roof of the car. She jumped at the sound and glanced at Spike. He slept as if he hadn't heard a thing, which he probably hadn't. Twilight looked at the ceiling of the car; no visible indications of impact were in sight. She heard a few smaller thumps leading down the car's roof until it reached the other end. Twilight blinked, _What was that?_

She watched the other end of the car from behind her seat, waiting for something to happen. The door opened up, and Rainbow Dash walked in, breathing heavier than normal. She walked down the aisle to where Twilight was seated and sat down beside her. She breathed an exhausted breath, "The train's faster than I remember..."

Twilight laughed, "Where have you been? I didn't think you were going to make it."

Rainbow shrugged, "Well... I told Tank to go home before I found Scootaloo. I forgot that I still needed to get his flight gear off so he could sleep... He'd be kinda angry with me if I forgot," she laughed, "Besides, I decided to pick up an actual saddlebag to put my book in, so I could read it on the trip," she showed Twilight the bag hanging off her back, "Easier to manage than that bag you gave me."

"Well, it was all I had at the time.. But, wait.. Book? Not books?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rainbow grinned, "Yup! The only book I really need for the road. I dropped the other one off," she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out said book. She gasped, "What?"

Twilight read the title, "History of the Tribes: Origins," she smiled widely, "I knew you'd like it!"

"But... but.. I... This..." Rainbow stuttered as she looked at the book.

Twilight continued to observe it, having taken it from her friend with her magic, "But for you to choose this over the Daring Do novel? Wow! This must really be a good read!"

Rainbow snatched the book away and tossed it into the bag, "That is NOT what I meant to bring!" she pouted and placed the bag in the aisle.

Twilight sighed, "You should give it a chance, Rainbow. You never know if you'd like it. Just read a few chapters," she got up and wiggled her way past her friend, and hopped in the seat in front of her, "I'm going to get some sleep, I think. It's a shame they don't have any bunk cars on this train..."

Rainbow watched as Twilight's head disappeared behind the front seat, "Well.. might as well go to sleep also..." she laid down in the seat and closed her eyes. She whispered, "I really wanted to know what happened to Daring Do after she fell into that bottomless pit..."

She sighed and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 03: The Challenge

I came to the chapter to fix a tiny issue... And found a _massive _issue.. The beginning of the second section was jumbled all together for some weird reason... Making it almost impossible to read. I'm really sorry to anyone that read it like that. The issue is fixed now!

**Chapter Three: The Challenge**

The morning sun shone brightly through the uncovered window of the train car, it's rays bathing a sleeping Rainbow Dash in golden light. Rainbow tightened her already-closed eyes in an attempt to block out the invading sunlight. It's glow penetrated her eye's defenses. She groaned softly in her sleep and turned over to face the seat. Shadow made its way into her closed vision. She smiled, _No light... sleep now... _She let the gentle vibrations of the moving train transport her back to her dreams.

Mr. Boxcar walked down the empty aisles of the car, checking each seat for signs of belongings, or messes. He stopped at one seat, looking down at the sleeping, rainbow-maned mare. He noticed the ruffled feathers of her wings and the tangles that her mane was in, both likely from tossing and turning while asleep, "One mess found..." he muttered with a sigh.

He checked to see if she was awake. Not surprisingly, she was out cold. He shook his head, "Miss... It's morning now. Time to rise and shine," she didn't answer, "Miss, your friends are already awake. They're up a car ahead, having breakfast."

Rainbow groaned again and shooed him away with her hoof, her eyes still closed.

Mr. Boxcar sighed again, "Okay... You want to do this the hard way? Well, fine," he reached for a whistle he had tucked away in his uniform. He eyed her sleeping form one more time before a smirk grew on his face. He lifted the whistle up to his mouth, took a deep breath, and let out the loudest whistle he could manage.

Rainbow yelled out in shock as she launched herself into the air, crashing into the ceiling; the train car vibrated heavily in response. Rainbow crashed back down into her seat, and rubbed her head with her hooves, "Hey! What's the big idea?"

Boxcar burst out laughing, "Now _that_ is why I carry this whistle around," he held up the whistle for her to see.

Rainbow growled, "That was so _not_ cool... You do that to all your passengers?"

Boxcar shook his head and grinned, "No, only the lazy ones," he tucked the whistle back into his shirt, "Now, your friends are already up. They're having breakfast up in the car ahead of us. Just don't go falling back asleep, or I'll have to get my friend here to wake you up again," he patted his chest with his hoof.

Rainbow shook her head, "Oh, don't worry. I won't be able to sleep with this headache..."

Boxcar smirked once more before turning down the aisle and leaving.

Rainbow continued to rub her head as she watched him go. Her eyes locked onto the door as it closed. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, yawning as she straightened herself in the seat. She noticed her saddlebag at her hooves and reached for it; it was lighter than she remembered. She turned it backwards and watched as air spilled out. Confused, she looked in it, "Where's the book?" She hopped down from the seat and looked around the floor. Finding nothing, she looked under the seat, "Not here either..." she shrugged and stood up, stretching, "Oh well. Breakfast sounds good."

She placed the bag back down on the seat and walked down the aisle toward the door, "Why do I even have to get up? We're not even there yet..."

She entered the next car and looked around; it was better furnished than the previous car, but still not luxurious. Wooden tables and stools lined both sides of the red-carpeted train car, leaving enough room to walk down the center. The bases of each table were nailed into the floor, with each table top screwed into the base, to prevent them from sliding around. The windows wore curtains thin enough to still allow in plenty of the suns warm glow. At one of the tables sat Twilight and Spike. She walked toward them.

Twilight sat by one of the windows, actively reading from an open book in front of her. Spike sat on the opposite end, by the aisle, eating from a bowl of honey oats cereal. He took one bite from it before making an upset gesture, "Man... What I wouldn't give for some delicious gems... Or ice cream, that would be good too!"

Twilight glanced up from her book, "Ponies don't eat gems, Spike, so they don't keep any in stock. And you know that ice cream would only cause a stomach ache later. Remember when you ate all of that ice cream? You ended up regretting it later."

Spike dropped his spoon back into the bowl, "Yeah, I remember," he laughed, "I remember how ridiculous you looked in that getup with the eye patch!" he took another bite of the cereal, "What I wouldn't give for some gems..." he looked down at the bowl, "I can imagine this bowl being filled with diamonds... or rubies... or sapphires!" his mouth grew into a drooling smile.

Twilight sighed and put her book down to take a bite of her own cereal, "Well, it tastes fine to me," she turned her head and noticed Rainbow walking down the aisle toward them. She smiled, "How did you sleep, Rainbow?"

Rainbow yawned, her eyes still half-closed, "I slept well... At least until that _punk_ blew a whistle in my ear..."

"Rainbow!" Twilight scolded, "That's not a nice thing to say about the pony that took time for us to travel to Canterlot."

"Eh, I don't care. He shouldn't be blowing whistles in my ear."

Twilight shook her head slightly, "Well, he did seem a bit grumpy last night, as well..."

"Yeah, that's because we woke him up. Like I said, we should of waited until this morning to leave," Spike said in between spoonfuls of cereal.

"Well, if it would've gotten me a good night's sleep, and minus one headache," Rainbow added in, "I agree."

She took a seat on the floor beside the open stool, her head barely poking up above table level. Twilight looked at her, "Why not just sit on the stool? I had to. It's pretty comfortable, actually."

Rainbow sighed and climbed up onto the stool, "Call this comfortable?" she shifted herself around on the stool before finding a somewhat-suitable position, "Eh, guess I can get used to it," she looked down at the bowl of cereal sitting in front of her, "Well, at least the food looks okay."

Twilight smirked at Spike as he made gagging motions, "Looks like it's just you, Spike."

"But," Rainbow added, frowning, "how am I supposed to eat it? They kinda forgot to give me a spoon." A slurping sound came from her right; she glanced over to see Spike, bowl in claws, sipping up the remaining milk in it. She grinned, "That's a good idea, Spike. Who needs spoons?" She took her bowl in both hooves and brought it up to her mouth to pour the cereal in.

Twilight shook her head, "Well, that's not rude at all..."

"What? I guess I could do what Spike was doing-"

"No, no... That's fine," Twilight glanced back down at the book and turned the page.

Rainbow saw from behind her bowl that Twilight was skimming through the page as if looking for something specific. She placed down the bowl, "So... Find anything action-y or adventure-y in that thing yet?"

Twilight glanced back up from her reading and shook her head, "Not yet, no... But I did find some interesting facts," she narrowed her eyes at Rainbow when she yawned, "Very interesting facts. This section talks about Alicorns.

"Oh, yeah?" Rainbow asked, taking another sip from her bowl of cereal.

Twilight nodded, "Yes. According to the book, Alicorns came to be from a strange magic that saturated the land long ago. All of us ponies were given our unique abilities from this magic, but Alicorns were special. It says here that the first Alicorn was born soon after the first union of a Unicorn and Pegasus, shortly after the three tribes came to Equestria... After that first coupling, more pairings of the three tribes became common... But Alicorn births were still very rare."

Rainbow finished her cereal and pushed the bowl away from her, "Anything else?"

"Well, there's plenty more here," she found her place in the book and read aloud, "The emergence of the first Alicorn foal was thought of as a sign of better days to come; but only to some. The unsteady alliance was crumbling day by day, with violence growing amongst the three tribes. They were at the brink of war, fighting over their differences. But little did they know that on an obsidian throne in the high mountains at the heart of this new land, the draconequus, Discord, was pulling their strings..."

Rainbow groaned, "Him? If I ever see him again..."

"Let's hope we never will," Twilight said, "But it makes sense. Princess Celestia said that she and Princess Luna locked him away long ago."

Twilight continued reading, "Discord was an unforgiving creature capable of manipulating anypony. He pulled the strings of the three tribes, causing war to be waged, all for his own amusement.

"The war waged on between the tribes for several years; but there was still hope locked up in the young Alicorn. In the town of Featherhoof, near the border of the northern mountainous regions that the tribes had originated from, a small group of unicorn, pegasi, and earth ponies stood as one.

"It is speculated that Discord's manipulative touch could not reach the united ponies due to the young Alicorn, and another Alicorn, her newly-born sister. The two sisters grew into fine mares with as much influence as the draconequus king."

Spike leaned forward, "Is it talking about..."

Twilight nodded her head, "I think so, Spike."

She continued, "Stories of violence had reached them from all corners of the land, some more gruesome than others. The two sisters had decided to put their hooves down and stand up against the tyrant, Discord.

"Elder unicorns of the village spoke of powerful artifacts that possessed magics capable of countering Discord; artifacts to balance the scales and return harmony to the lands. It took several years of searching in secrecy before an ancient vault, locked with Discord's magic, was found. The sisters were able to break the weakening spell and access the artifacts known as the 'Elements of Harmony.'

"With their weapon now in hoof, the Alicorn sisters set out to unify the warring tribes and put an end to Discord's reign of tyranny. All it took was their presence to calm the tribes and unite them; they were the living, breathing symbol of unity. Mares with both horns and wings, and a connection to the land; mares that they could all aspire to become.

"Discord's reign ended not soon after, as the united tribes followed their leaders as they, with the aid of the Elements of Harmony, locked the draconequus away in a prison of stone.

"Celebrations were had by the three united tribes as the Alicorn sisters accepted the crowns of a new, unified kingdom: Equestria; with them to rule it as the Princesses Celestia and Luna."

"I... didn't know all of that," Rainbow said, wide-eyed.

Twilight placed the book down and blinked at the others, "Neither did I... I never thought to piece the founding of Equestria and the first fall of Discord as the same event..."

The train whistled its arrival at Canterlot as it slowed to a stop. Mr. Boxcar walked in from the back car, Rainbow's saddlebag in mouth. He dropped it on the table, "We've arrived at Canterlot," he looked at Rainbow, "Thought I'd bring your bag. Probably would've forgotten it if I hadn't," he smiled as she put on a narrow-eyed frown.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir!" Twilight said, getting up from her stool.

"What kindness..?"

"Rainbow!" Twilight scolded in a hushed whisper, looking back at the mumbling mare. She turned back to face the conductor, her teeth bare in an innocent smile.

Mr. Boxcar yawned and nodded as if he hadn't heard anything, "Yeah, yeah... I'll let you show yourselves off, I need a nap before we head back to Ponyville."

Twilight watched the conductor go before turning to see Rainbow scooping the book into her saddlebag.

"Huh?" Rainbow said, spotting a small, metallic object, she pulled it out and saw what it was. A mischievous grin grew on her face, "I think that our _kind_ conductor lost his whistle. I'll be right back!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Where are you going?"

Rainbow smiled innocently, "To return the kindness he 'showed' to us."

Once she was gone, Spike leaned to Twilight, "This isn't going to end well, I bet."

Twilight sighed and nodded her head in agreement.

"So, uh, do you think that book has its facts straight?"

"I don't know, Spike. We can ask the princess if there's-" Twilight was cut off by a loud whistling from somewhere in the back, followed by angry shouting.

Rainbow Dash came running through the door, laughing hysterically. She stopped at the table and lifted the bag onto her back, "Don't know about you two, but I'm gone!"

Twilight and Spike watched as Rainbow ran down the hall before looking at each other, and then at the door when Mr. Boxcar slammed it open. They shrunk in his gaze.

"GET OFF MY TRAIN!" he screamed in rage.

"I'm with Rainbow," Spike said, turning around, "Let's dash!"

Twilight nodded, turning after him, "Yes, let's!"

* * *

The halls of the Canterlot palace were vast; large, flowing banners hung evenly-spaced from stone walls. The stone-tiled floors wore brown carpets with red and gold borders. Doors and staircases branched off from the main hall, leading to other sections of the palace.

Rainbow Dash walked beside Twilight and Spike, the sound of their hooves on the hard stone floors at broken sections of carpet gave out a hollow echo that ricocheted off the walls. The palace was large; even though Rainbow had been there at least half a dozen times before, she knew she'd only seen a fraction of what was the whole.

She glanced at Twilight, who was wearing a wide smile; her and Spike, both, were. They were much more comfortable here than she was. That wasn't surprising, though; they had both lived there for a majority of their lives.

Rainbow took her glance away, and explored the decorative halls with her eyes, taking in every detail: The long, carpeted, stone-tiled floors. The matching stone walls, clothed in many banners of the same design. The large, wooden doors constructed neatly into those walls. The vaulted ceiling of stone where chandeliers hung from. None of the details really interested her.

It wasn't that she was uncomfortable with being there; no, she had always been honored to walk in those halls as the princesses' loyal subject. But she couldn't help but to feel sometimes that she didn't really belong there. She shook the thoughts out of her head. Of course she belonged! She was the Element of Loyalty, after all. She smiled at that thought; she would be there for Twilight, and Spike, and, of course, the princesses.

The trio continued their journey through the large, stone halls of the palace. Every so often, Twilight would lead them down another major hallway, or around a large group of ponies. After a few more minutes of following the same motions, they arrived at their destination. At the end of the hall stood a large, wooden door, held together by golden beams across it. Large, golden hinges held the door up against the wall. A warm glow poured through from the open door, beckoning them to enter; they obliged.

The large chamber was much brighter than the halls; torches hung on pillars of carved, white stone and against the walls, giving off light to rival the darkest of nights. A light-red carpet with borders of a darker hue ran along the center of the chamber's floor up to a large, golden throne, where Princess Celestia sat.

Besides the princess, there were three other ponies in attendance; two royal guards stood at the foot of the throne, their faces blank of expression. Rainbow wasn't sure if they were even capable of laughing, or at least cracking a smile. Rainbow glanced at the third, and gasped audibly, _Spitfire?_

Spitfire of the Wonderbolts stood at the foot of the throne, speaking with the princess, "What does he want, if I may ask?"

The princess shook her head slightly, as if unsure, "The messenger hasn't given any specifics on the matter. He has only said that the prince of Snow Peaks requested an audience with me at a location of his choosing."

**"**But princess..." Spitfire protested, "Is that really such a good idea?"

**"**I'll have select guards with me on my travels, Spitfire. You need not worry about my safety. I have yet to make my decision, though I will most likely meet with this prince on his terms. If what the messenger says is true, then problems may arise. I'll want you to have your Wonderbolts ready for scouting the outlying areas of Equestria, if it comes to that," Princess Celestia said, nodding her head to show that she was done speaking of the matter.

Spitfire nodded and bowed, before turning around. She grinned at the approaching trio, and made her way toward them, "Well, didn't expect to see you here," she said to them, but more specifically to Rainbow, "It's good to see you."

**"**Yeah... It's, um, good to see you, too, Spitfire!" Rainbow said, trying to keep her calm. Spitfire's smirk told her she wasn't doing a very good job of that. She redoubled her efforts.

**"**So, how long you in Canterlot for?" Spitfire asked, looking between the three.

Twilight spoke up, "We'll be here for at least a day or two, but it really depends on what Princess Celestia needs help with.

"Spitfire nodded, "Alright," she turned to Rainbow, "Well, if you happen to find some time, you're more than welcome to fly by the Wonderbolts Derby to catch some of our warm up races."

Rainbow's eyes lit up brighter than a blazing fire; her mouth curved up in the most excited of smiles, "Yes!" she looked around and quieted her voice, "I mean... Yeah, sure. I guess I could."

Spitfire nodded with a grin, "Alright, then, I'll catch ya later, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow watched as she disappeared behind the large, open doors, "Yeah... See ya."

**"**Come on, Rainbow, Princess Celestia is waiting," Twilight urged.

Rainbow turned to her and nodded. The trio walked on toward the throne, stopping at the base, and bowed.

Princess Celestia looked at them with a warm smile on her face, "Welcome back to Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle, and you, too, Spike. I'm glad that you could make it so soon," she turned to Rainbow, "I am glad to see you, too, Rainbow Dash. Though, I am curious why you're here."

Twilight rose, "Rainbow wanted to keep us company on the way here."

Celestia nodded with a smile, "Ah, yes. She truly is a loyal friend," her face took on a look of neutrality as she faced Twilight directly, "Now, I did promise you an explanation once you got here.

"A few days ago, a messenger from the kingdom of Snow Peaks arrived here in Canterlot, asking for an audience with me. I had other matters I had to attend to, but I did listen to a brief explanation as to why he was here. As you undoubtedly heard when you arrived, his prince asked for a meeting with me at a location of his choosing."

Twilight nodded, "Yes, princess, I believe I remember hearing something about that when we arrived."

Celestia nodded, "As I thought you had. I have not officially given my answer yet. But I most likely will meet with Snow Peaks' prince," she slowly made her way down the golden stairs of her throne to them, "Which brings me to why I've called you here, Twilight. With me away, tasks will fall behind schedule. My sister, Princess Luna, will rule the kingdom on her own, but she will need help with organization; that's where your talents will be helpful. So I ask you, dearest student; will you be available to help?"

Twilight bowed, with a wide smile across her face, "Of course, Princess Celestia! I'm always happy to help."

"Princess Celestia?"

The group turned toward the door. A white-coated stallion with gray mane walked into the throne room; he wore a suit of light chain-mail armor across his torso. He wore a look of worry on his face.

The stallion bowed, "Princess, please forgive my intrusion, but I must have your answer now. As you may remember me saying from before, there were specks floating far away on the ocean, barely in view from the shore. We couldn't identify them clearly, but they seemed to be massive boats; we counted three of them, at least."

Celestia nodded her head, "Yes, you have spoken to me of these boats. And I understand how urgent this is to your prince, considering how cautious he tends to be," she walked up to the messenger, "I have made my decision. Tell your prince that I will meet him at the specified location, but to give me a day after your arrival there."

The messenger bowed, pleased at the answer, "Yes, your highness, I will. Thank you, Princess Celestia," he bowed again before backing away to leave the room.

Twilight walked up beside the princess, watching the messenger go, "Princess? What does that mean? Big boats out on the ocean? Who could be controlling them?"

The princess sighed, "Snow Peaks is a hostile environment, Twilight Sparkle. It's prince likely exercises caution for nearly everything; this is likely no different," she turned to the trio, "I would not worry, my little ponies. It is likely just their imaginations. But I will meet with the prince if it will comfort them.

"Now, I have tasked you with your duties for while I'm away. I estimate my return within the week," she smiled softly, "I'm sure you will do a fine job, my pupil. But I must take my leave, now, to prepare. I'll have one of the guards escort you to your rooms."

The trio bowed once more as the princess left the room. Rainbow was the first to rise, with a wide smile painted across her face, "Well... If we're here for a week, then I think I'll take Spitfire up on her offer and get a front row seat to a Wonderbolts practice session!"

Twilight smiled at her, "I'm going to have a lot to do here at the palace, so I won't be able to go. But you go ahead and have fun."

"Oh, I will," Rainbow lowered herself and slid the saddlebag off gently, "Mind holding on to that for me?"

Twilight nodded, "Of course I can."

Rainbow nodded, her smile still wider than a mile, before turning to happily, and proudly, walk out of the throne room, _I've got a race to catch!_

* * *

Twilight looked around the familiar halls of the living quarter. Just like the rest of the palace, the walls and floor were made of stone; paintings and torches hung from the walls, separated by doors and stone columns. The floor lacked the carpeting that the main halls had, allowing the sound of hooves on stone to echo easily down the hall.

Spike walked beside Twilight, remembering every familiar detail that the halls held, "Gee, Twilight... It sure has been a long time since we've been here."

Twilight looked down at the little dragon beside her and smiled warmly, all the fond memories of her time here filling her mind, "Yes, Spike, it has been. But it's good to be back, even if it's just temporary."

The guard in front of them stopped at a door and turned around to face them, "Here's your room, Miss Twilight," he opened the door.

Twilight and Spike stopped in the doorway, their eyes scanning the room, both wearing smiles. Twilight turned to the guard, "Thank you, kind sir."

The guard nodded, and then smiled, "You're welcome, Miss Twilight. Welcome home."

Twilight watched him go before turning into the doorway again, "Yes... Home."

Twilight and Spike, both, knew the room well. They had lived in it for several years prior to their move to Ponyville. They kept their smiles on; it was their room, left just the way they remembered it. Shelves lined the walls wherever there was room, with books of all genres and sizes neatly placed upon them; newly-written fiction to dusty old tomes once borrowed from the palace archives, now forgotten. In the corner of the room, closest to the door, a beautifully-carved wooden desk stood, a few books stacked neatly in one corner, and an unlit lamp for fireflies in the other. A quill and corked inkwell, as well as a small stack of parchment sat in the center of the desk. On the opposite side of the room, a balcony leading outside hung against the palace's walls, a telescope was positioned by a bench for long nights of star gazing.

Twilight walked around the room slowly, taking in every single memory-bringing detail of the room. She spotted her old bed; large and wooden, carved just as beautifully as the desk, with each of the four corners of the frame carved into miniature spiraling towers; a carved, wooden bird sat perched on top of each.

She gently hopped onto the bed and laid back, feeling the soft pillow under her head and the blankets warming her back. She remembered many lonely nights as a young filly, having just arrived at the palace, crying herself to sleep when she missed her parents, pretending that the warmth of those blankets were their loving embrace.

Twilight rolled onto her side and sighed. She still missed her parents, having only seen them once, briefly, since she had left them. They had been really excited for her to learn under the princess herself, and she had been too. But she hadn't known what that would mean. She had to leave her parents to learn, and they had encouraged it.

She rolled herself over again to face the other side of the bed and spotted a golden picture frame sitting on the nightstand. She lifted it up with her magic and guided it toward her, grabbing hold of it with her hooves. She lit the picture with magic from her horn, and a tear came to her eye; she smiled. Staring at her with proud eyes were her parents, and in front of them stood her older brother, Shining Armor, barely out of colt years, and a filly version of her. The ponies from her past smiled at her through the picture, reminding her of the bond they had shared. She sniffled.

"You alright, Twilight?" Spike asked from inside an opened chest from across the room. He poked his head out, "Are you crying?"

Twilight wiped her eyes quickly and cleared her throat, "What? Oh, no... I'm not, Spike. It's fine..."

"Well, if you say so," Spike shrugged and disappeared back into the chest of his old belongings to continue his scavenger hunt.

Twilight looked back at the picture before sighing heavily, _I may have been busy all of those years.. But I promise I'll take time to see you again soon... _"I promise..." she added in a whisper.

She placed the picture back on the nightstand. That was the past, and as much as she'd like to live in it, to go back to that time and spend those days she had missed with them, she couldn't. She had her life now... and her friends...

She gasped and shot out of the bed, a smile now forming on her face, "Spike? Take a letter!"

Spike poked his head out of the chest again, a blanket half-covering it, and nodded; the blanket spilled onto the floor. He hopped out of the chest and hurried to the desk to grab the quill and ink, and a piece of parchment, "Ready!"

Twilight smiled and paced the floor, "To my friends. Rainbow Dash and I, as well as Spike, are in Canterlot right now, handling business for Princess Celestia while she's away. We will be back in a week. I invite you all to join us here at the palace for the week, if you have the time to spare. Whoever happens to receive this letter, if you decide to join us here in Canterlot, I ask you to bring a sealed envelope in the drawer of the nightstand by my bed in my home. Please, do not open it! I look forward to seeing you all!"

Spike signed the letter from Twilight, "Okay, who do you want to send it to?"

Twilight smiled, "I'll let you choose. They'll hopefully all get the message, no matter who gets it."

Spike looked down at the letter before grinning. He added his signature to the letter, below Twilight's name, and sent it off in a spew of green flame. Satisfied, he smacked his claws together for a job well done. He noticed Twilight looking at him with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

"You sent that to Rarity, didn't you?"

A blush grew in Spike's cheeks, "Maybe... How did ya know?"

"Well, besides the fact you wouldn't have signed your name there for anypony else..." she grinned, "That blush tells me all I need to know."

Spike's face grew a dark crimson and he picked up the fallen blanket from the chest and pulled it over his head to hide his embarrassment.

Twilight laughed.

* * *

Rainbow turned a corner onto the main street of Canterlot. All along the road, lining both sides, stood buildings of stone and white plaster, some as high as four stories. The conical roofs were covered in purple tiles and lined with golden ribbons along their bases. Over the sides of the street hung awnings from buildings, and thin arches ran across the street every so often, with vines growing up the sides to hang above the road.

Nobles, dressed in expensive-looking fashion, passed by Rainbow as she continued her journey to the Wonderbolts Derby, minding her own business. She didn't care what they were doing, and didn't hear the mild complaints they voiced quietly as she passed them.

She may not have looked it on the outside, but she was extremely excited on the inside, _A personal invite to spend the day with the Wonderbolts? And not just any Wonderbolt, but Spitfire! Probably the coolest, most awesome of the team, not to mention their captain! _Her smile widened, _And I didn't even have to win a competition this time!_

Rainbow dodged a group of conversing, fashionable ponies as they stood in the middle of the street by a clothing store on a corner of an intersecting road. She turned and saw the flying flags of the Derby in the distance. A burst of adrenaline flowed throughout her as she sped forward in an excited run.

She ran passed another group of conversing nobles, blowing dust up to surround them, they coughed.

"Watch where you're going!"

"My bad!" Rainbow shouted, not even looking back. She had one goal, and it was in front of her in the floating derby.

Rainbow kept her pace all the way to the gates of the derby. She slowed to a fast walk as she approached the gate. A light-brown coated stallion with dark-brown mane walked up to her as she approached. He was very muscular, obviously able to pull a heavy load, _Couldn't win a race with muscles like that, though... _She snickered at the thought of this bulky pony participating in a race.

He eyed her, "What so funny?" he asked in a gruff voice.

Rainbow suppressed another laugh, "Oh, uh, nothing! Just a joke I heard awhile back... So, uh, mind letting me in?"

The guard gave a low, rumbling laugh, "Oh, yes, I hear joke now. You right, it is funny!" he continued to laugh.

"Um... joke?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes, you get in? Yes, good joke!" he said, wiping away tears of mirth.

Rainbow growled, "That wasn't a joke! I want in."

The bulky guard cleared his throat, "You kidding?"

"No, I'm not. Now, let me in?" Rainbow asked again, her patience dwindling.

He shook his head, "No, not happening."

"I'm allowed in there! Spitfire invited me!" Rainbow stated angrily.

"I hear nothing, so not true," the guard said firmly.

"Well, maybe if you cleaned out your ears, you would hear something!" Rainbow said, trying to pass the guard.

He sidestepped back in front of her and brought a hoof up, pushing Rainbow back.

"Hey!-" Rainbow tried to protest.

The guard stomped his hoof down, silencing her, "You listen. I not afraid to throw a pony out on the streets. I not care whether it a stallion," he eyed the shocked Rainbow Dash, "or a little mare, like you."

The gate behind him opened, and Spitfire poked her head out, "Leave her alone, Brute. She has my permission to be here."

Brute turned his head, "Yes, ma'am," he regarded Rainbow again, "Well, what you know... You told truth!" he laughed, stepping out of her way.

She grumpily passed him, keeping her eye on him in case he tried to block her again; he didn't.

She reached the gate where Spitfire was waiting for her, and smiled, "Thanks for the help back there..."

Spitfire shrugged, "Eh, it's no problem. Brute Force is a good guard," she looked back at Brute, "Maybe a little too good..."

"Fitting name..." Rainbow mumbled, glancing back at the guard. She turned back to face Spitfire. Something was different, "Wait, where's your uniform?"

Spitfire laughed, "We don't wear them forever! This is just practice, so we can relax. No need for a uniform when we're not really performing."

Rainbow smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I guess. So, did the races start yet?"

Spitfire nodded, "Yup, we're on the third race now. Soarin' is taking on Rapidfire."

Rainbow gasped, "The third race? Already? I left the palace not long after you did!"

"It doesn't take long to race five laps around the derby," Spitfire grinned.

"Oh, right..." Rainbow sighed.

Spitfire put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, "Hey, don't worry! There's still a few races left before we take a break. Come on, let's go."

Rainbow started after Spitfire, smiling just as widely as she had been before encountering Brute.

The Wonderbolts Derby was similar to how Rainbow remembered it the first time she came there, several years ago; perhaps the seating area had expanded some, but that's the only main change that she could spot.

She walked up to the safety rail; two stallions zipped past her, passing the finish line and continuing on.

Spitfire walked up beside her, "This should be their fifth lap," she grinned over at Rainbow, "My bits are on Rapidfire; he's been giving Soarin' a run for his money lately."

"I don't know, I think Soarin' has a good chance," Rainbow said, looking on at the race.

The two stallions turned the final corner, and sped up as they approached the finish line. Soarin' glanced over to the watching mares and grinned. He turned back to the race and noticed Rapidfire speeding ahead, "What? Hey!" he attempted to speed up, but was too late. Rapidfire crossed the finish line first. He sighed and shrugged as he flew over to meet with Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Soarin'!" Spitfire said, walking up to him, "That's a mistake that I thought would've been behind you," she smirked.

"Ah, well... You know," Soarin' tried to explain, "I saw a stranger that I hadn't seen for awhile. Kinda caught my attention for a second."

"Excuses, Soarin'?" Spitfire laughed, "Well, I know you won't make that mistake again."

Soarin' feigned relief and grinned, "So, It's been awhile, Rainbow Dash! How have you been?"

Rainbow shrugged, "Eh, I've been okay. Had to fight off a few stray clouds; nothing hard, though."

"Ah, right. You do weather control. Forgot about that," Soarin' said, rubbing the back of his head with his hoof.

A blue-coated mare with white mane walked up to the group, "Hello again, Rainbow. Good to see ya," she turned to Spitfire, "Come on, Spitfire, they're pitting us together for the next race."

Spitfire nodded, "Alright, Fleetfoot," she grinned, "I'll meet ya on the track."

Fleetfoot walked off toward the racetrack. Spitfire turned to the group, "Well, my turn, I guess. Let me show you how it's done, Soarin'!" she grinned and ran off to the track.

"Yeah, yeah..." Soarin' said, watching her go. He turned to Rainbow, "Well, go ahead and make yourself at home. I need to go talk to Rapidfire about a rematch," he turned to walk back to the gathered group of Wonderbolts by the track.

Rainbow followed and sat down on a bench beside the grouped Wonderbolts. She looked at the two ponies lined up at the starting line, both were grinning and in ready stances. Soarin' took a whistle and blew it, signaling the racing ponies to begin.

Rainbow stood up to get a better look at the race. It looked like Spitfire was in the lead to start, with the lead changing to Fleetfoot during the second. The third lap changed leaders again. The forth go-around had them neck-and-neck; the two mares trading off first position like a game of hot potato. Spitfire had a determined look on her face, while Fleetfoot wore a grin. _She's holding back..._ Rainbow rose up on two hooves, watching the race intently.

The racing mares crossed the line again, putting them into lap number five. Spitfire glanced at Fleetfoot out of the corner of her eye and saw the grin on her face. She grinned nervously and yelled out, "I guess I should of seen this coming, huh?"

Fleetfoot glanced at Spitfire, the grin widening, "Yup!" she sped up, leaving Spitfire in a trail of cool wind.

Spitfire sighed, "Well, so much for showing Soarin' how it's done..."

Fleetfoot crossed the finish line, several seconds before Spitfire reached it, and the two mares landed back at the group of Wonderbolts.

Soarin' laughed, "You sure showed me, Spitfire!"

Spitfire joined in on the laughing, "Quiet, Soarin'! I can't help it if Fleetfoot is on a roll today."

Rainbow looked at the conversing group of her heroes. She chuckled quietly to herself, "I bet I could beat Fleetfoot in a race..." She was looking at her hooves when she realized something, _Wait... Why isn't anypony talking..?_ She looked up and saw the group staring at her, _Uh oh..._

A couple of stallions stepped aside, allowing Fleetfoot to walk up to Rainbow. She was smiling, "So, you really think you can beat me in a race?"

_Good job, feather-brain! Look what you got yourself into!_ She scolded herself before looking Fleetfoot in the eye. She shook herself, "I don't think I can..." a grin formed on her face, "... I _know_ I can!"

The gathered Wonderbolts "oohed" at her comment, with Fleetfoot laughing slightly in response, "Fine, how about a race then? Tomorrow afternoon. All in good fun?" she put out her hoof.

The Wonderbolts looked down at her hoof, then at Rainbow, waiting for a response. Rainbow looked at it, too, _What have I gotten myself into... Race a Wonderbolt? And not just any Wonderbolt... But probably the fastest of them? That's insane! But... what an opportunity that would be! Nothing would prove my skills to Spitfire and the Wonderbolts more than beating one of their best at a race... Oh yeah, this is going to be awesome!_ Her eyes narrowed and she smiled, "I'm game. You're on!" she met eyes with Fleetfoot and brought her hoof up to meet the challenging mare's, "But... I'd ask one thing."

Fleetfoot brought her hoof down, "What's that?"

Rainbow pointed at the track, "Can we have a more complicated coarse than _THAT?_ You know, something with obstacles and stuff."

Fleetfoot nodded with a grin.

"I think we can set something up," Soarin' said from behind Fleetfoot, "I think it'd be fun to watch."

Spitfire nodded, "Okay, it's settled then. Tomorrow afternoon, at 2:30, we meet here for a race between Fleetfoot and Rainbow Dash. But for now, let's get back to practice."

The others nodded and huddled up to talk about the next match up.

Rainbow sat back down on the bench, a smile forming on her face. A determined smile. A triumphant smile. She had just challenged one of the best Wonderbolts at their own game, and she was determined to win!


	4. Chapter 04: To Race a Wonderbolt

**Chapter Four: To Race a Wonderbolt**

Rainbow Dash closed the door behind her as she pulled her saddlebag off her back, placing it on an ornately-carved wooden desk near the entrance.

She looked around the room; it looked like Twilight's room, _Minus the millions of books... _The door leading to the balcony was open, and, unlike Twilight's balcony, it lacked a telescope; light peaked over distant peaks as the sun disappeared behind them. The room itself was plain enough, with only the occasional painting hanging from the mostly-bare walls. Rainbow shrugged, _As if decorations really matter._

She reached for the saddlebag and pulled out a book, a Daring Do novel. Rainbow looked at it and smiled, _Now I can see what happened to Daring Do! _She walked over to her bed and hopped back onto it. She struggled to find a good position, and sat up to prop her pillows up against the back wall before sitting back again. Satisfied, she opened the book and found her spot from the night before.

"Chapter two: The Art of Escaping," Rainbow recited, "Daring Do held on tightly to a loose root sticking out of the side of the pit. She glanced down out of the corner of her eye; the pit really did seem bottomless. At least, she couldn't see the bottom.

"Her wing was bandaged, still recovering from the close call she had the day before. She attempted to find a hoofhold in the wall. Finding one, she reached for another one and attempted to pull herself up; the first hoofhold crumbled and she lost balance, slamming back into the side of the wall, and weakening the already-loosened root."

Rainbow winced, "Watch out, Daring! Take it easy, girl..."

She continued reading, "Daring watched as the former hoofhold, a hoof-sized rock, disappeared into the darkness of the abyssal pit. 'One...' she said through clenched teeth, 'Two... Three... Four...' she counted out the seconds as she waited for a sound. Finally, one came, _Twelve seconds... Given that an object in free fall travels one-thousand-twenty-four feet over eight seconds... s being distance and t being time..._ Her eyes narrowed as she thought out the math in her head, _… So sixteen multiplied by twelve squared: one-forty-four... two-thousand-four feet!_ Her pupils shrunk at the thought, _Oh gosh, that's a long drop..._ The root loosened, causing Daring to gasp through her teeth, _I thought I heard a splash down there, meaning water. Hopefully I'll land in that..."_

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "Since when was she so smart? I wonder what's going to happen..."

She kept reading, "The root snapped, throwing Daring Do from her position on the wall. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable impact. Light quickly faded from her closed vision, plunging her into darkness. The air grew damp and warm against her coat. She positioned herself vertically to reduce her surface area, and landed in a pool of chilling-cold water with a loud splash; it was thick with the taste of sulfur. She swam to the surface, gasping for fresh air.

"A torch lit up down a cavern, lighting up enough of the chamber to barely see. Hoofsteps echoed against the jagged, stone walls, 'Who's there?'"

"Twilight..."

Rainbow dropped the book, "Twilight? Why's she in the book?" she glanced over at the door, "Oh... Have you ever thought of knocking before entering?"

"I did. Several times, in fact," Twilight said, rolling her eyes, "Reading aloud again, Rainbow?" she asked, walking over to the balcony to close the door.

"Well, you get more into it when you read it out loud," Rainbow defended.

Twilight laughed, "Well, you really do get into it," she walked over to identify the book, "Daring Do? I thought you forgot that in Ponyville."

Rainbow grinned, "Oh, I did. You're right about one thing; the library here really does have every book, including this," she tapped the novel, now sitting on her bed.

Twilight smiled, "Told you. Anyway, I'm going to the train station. You coming?"

"Wait..." Rainbow started, "Already leaving? Didn't we just get here?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes. We're not leaving, though. The others are coming here for the week. I sent a message earlier this morning, asking if anypony wanted to join us here at the palace," she walked over to the bed and picked up the book with her magic, placing it on the nightstand beside it, "Owloysius arrived with a message from them a few hours ago. They said that they were going take the next train... And said to bring a cart," she turned to face Rainbow again, "Anyway, do you want to go? I could use some company while we wait."

Rainbow looked at the Daring Do novel on the nightstand and sighed, "Why can't Spike go?"

"Spike is already asleep; went to bed an hour ago, maybe... He was still tired from last night," Twilight said, "So... you want to go?"

Rainbow looked out the window and saw the familiar dark-blue and black of night. She shrugged and hopped off the bed, stretching, "Sure, I guess I can. Let's go."

* * *

In the darkness of the night, Rainbow paced back and forth, passing in and out of light provided by the train station's lit windows. She looked at the clock and sighed, "It's 9:32 already? Where's the train?"

Twilight was sitting against the wall by one of the lit windows, reading from her copy of _History of the Tribes: Origins. _She glanced up from the book sitting on the ground in front of her, "I'm sure it'll be here soon. It took five or six hours to get here from Ponyville," she smiled as she looked back at the book, placing a hoof on the page to mark it, "Rainbow, I may have found something interesting..."

Rainbow shook her head, not bothering to stop her pacing, "I don't feel like hearing it right now, sorry."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion, "Hmm?" she closed the book and got up to walk over to her friend, "What's wrong that's got you so antsy?" Rainbow continued to pace; Twilight wondered if she had even heard her, "Rainbow?"

Rainbow lowered her head to look more directly at the ground, and sighed, "Nothing's wrong. Everything's perfectly fine..." she lowered her voice, "I can do it... I can win... I will win..." she sighed again, "... I have to win..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her, confused by her friends behavior, "Win?"

Rainbow shook her head at the ground, "Win? No, no... It's not about winning. It's just for fun, yeah... Fun..." she stopped her pacing, finally. She took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm crazy... Challenging Fleetfoot to a race..?"

Twilight gasped, "You did what?"

Rainbow looked up, "Okay... I may have challenged Fleetfoot to a race today at the Wonderbolts warm up... It wasn't my fault, though! I didn't know they had that good of hearing..."

"You always said that you're as good as the Wonderbolts, though, Rainbow. Why are you afraid?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at Twilight, "I'm not afraid!-"

A whistle blew in the distance. The two ponies followed the sound to find it's source: The train. It slowed to a stop in front of the station.

After a moment of idle waiting, the door to one of the train cars opened. Fluttershy was the first to appear, with a cardboard box balanced on her back; she slowly walked down the steep stairs, careful not to trip. She looked around and smiled when she saw Twilight and Rainbow, and walked to them, "Hello, girls."

Twilight smiled, "Fluttershy! It's good that you could make it. Who else came with you?"

Fluttershy eased the box off her back, "Oh, um, well... There's-"

"Pinkie!"

Fluttershy turned and saw Pinkie Pie, carrying her own cardboard box, bouncing toward them, "How do you do that without the box falling?"

Pinkie stopped hopping and walked the remaining distance, eyes turned upward in a joyful smile, "Practice!" she stopped when she reached her friends and slid the box off on top of the other box, "We're all here! Me, and Fluttershy, and Applejack, and Rarity, too! These are her things," she patted the side of the box with her hoof.

Twilight looked at the boxes, "That's a lot of things..."

Applejack joined the group, with two boxes balancing on her back, "Well, that ain't all of it," she slid the boxes off carefully, beside the other two, "Anyway, howdy y'all!"

"Hello, Applejack!"Twilight said before looking at the growing pile, "No wonder her response said to bring a cart..."

"No kiddin'," Applejack said, "An' that ain't even all of it..."

"Excuse me!"

The group of ponies turned their heads back toward the door. Rarity was making her way down the steep stairs at a snails pace; she had saddlebags hanging off the sides of her back, and three large boxes wobbling on her back. She let out a sigh of relief at the bottom and eased the boxes off of her back. She turned to the door, "Watch your step, darling."

Mr. Boxcar appeared in the door of the train car; he held several bags in his mouth, and several cardboard boxes of different shapes and sizes stacked on his back. Sweat formed on his brow as he slowly, and groggily, stumbled down the stairs. The boxes tilted to one side, and he tried to compensate, "Oh, no!" he tripped, a shower of boxes and bags landing scattered on the ground.

Rarity sighed, "I told you..." she heard laughing and saw her friends walking over to her, with Rainbow lagging behind them. She looked at the scene again, and chuckled as well, "Well, in any case. I much appreciate your help."

Boxcar staggered to his hooves and balanced himself. He cleared his throat, "Yeah, yeah... No prob-" he glanced toward the approaching ponies as he was brushing himself off, and notice one Rainbow-maned mare in the back. His eyes widened, "_You!_" he made his way over to Rainbow, nearly pushing the other ponies out of the way, "You're not expecting a ride back on _my_ train, are you?"

Rainbow glanced up from the ground with narrowed eyes, "Aren't you being loud enough? You're gonna wake up the neighborhood."

Boxcar held his breath, as if attempting to hold back another shout. He looked around at the buildings surrounding them and released his breath, "Fine. But I'm not letting you ride on my train again. You can use your scrawny little wings and fly yourself back to Ponyville. I'm not having a troublemaker like you aboard."

Rainbow looked at the conductor with anger-filled eyes, "Troublemaker? I'm not the one stomping over to another pony to pick fights," she glanced at the others out of the corner of her eye, and then back at the conductor, "I was here for my friends, not to fight with you. But if you want a fight, I can give you one," she stomped her hoof against the cold stone of the ground.

Boxcar flinched, "Okay, okay... Fine. Just... don't come back on my train, okay?" he backed away slowly, "You're... bad for my sleeping schedule..." he turned to retreat.

Rarity stepped in front of him, "Oh, Mr. Boxcar, would you be so kind as to help me load all of these boxes onto that cart over there?" she pointed to said cart; two armored stallions stood by it, waiting.

Mr. Boxcar sighed and nodded his head, "Yes, ma'am. I'd be happy to help..."

Pinkie walked up to Rainbow, "Gee, Dashie, what's got you all sour?"

Twilight walked over to them, "It's probably her nerves..."

Fluttershy and Applejack joined them. Applejack eyed Rainbow and Twilight, "Her nerves? What's got her nervous?"

"Yeah, I've never seen you so nervous before, Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy added with a slight hint of worry in her voice.

Applejack nodded, looking at Rainbow, "Yeah, what the hay did you do to get your wing feathers ruffled?"

Twilight answered for her, "Well... she kind of challenged a Wonderbolt to a race."

They all gasped. Rainbow sighed, "Not just any Wonderbolt... But Fleetfoot!"

Pinkie tilted her head, "What's so special about her?"

Rarity walked up behind them, "I put bits on the line in favor of Fleetfoot one time when I bet against Fancypants," she stopped at the group, fixing her mane, "Needless to say, she won."

Rainbow groaned and fell to the ground to sit, "Ya know, Fleetfoot did a lot of winning today at the warm up," she looked at her friends, "She beat Spitfire, Soarin', Rapidfire... Fire Streak also. And, even before I got there, she beat High Winds..." she shook her head, "That's a lot of Wonderbolts that lost to her..."

Rainbow laid her head on the ground, hiding under her hooves. Twilight sighed and lifted her back to her hooves with her magic, "You need to get a hold of yourself. I'm sure you'll do fine!"

Rainbow grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly, "You don't get it! If I lose, I'll lose my chance at joining the Wonderbolts forever!" she stopped shaking the dizzy Twilight and looked away from the group, "There's a lot on the line... All it'll take is one tiny mistake, and everything will collapse from under me!"

Applejack shook her head, "You know what ya do if everything collapses from under ya? You use your wings an' stay in the air. But beatin' yerself up over it doesn't make a lick of sense. It ain't gonna help ya, that's fer sure."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, "If it'll help... I'll cheer for you!"

Rainbow took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it with a smile, "If you cheer me on like you did at the Best Young Flier competition, maybe I'll do fine."

Mr. Boxcar approached the group, struggling to keep his eyes open, and straightened as best he could, "Rarity, ma'am... All the boxes and bags are loaded onto the cart..."

Rarity turned to him and smiled, "Ah, good. Thank you very much, Mr. Boxcar. I believe that will be all for now."

Boxcar nodded and turned around to walk back to the train. He stopped at the stairs and stared at them for a moment before taking a deep breath and walking up them, one step at a time.

"BOO!"

Boxcar yelled out, falling backwards back onto the ground. He groaned and looked behind him to see both Rainbow and Pinkie, rolling on the ground laughing. He grimaced and rushed up the stairs, closing the door behind him.

Applejack walked over to her, anger in her eyes, "Well, that sure was rude of you.,."

"You... kidding?" Rainbow breathed out during breaks in her laughter. She took a deep breath to get herself under control and got off the ground, "Ah... Revenge is sweet!"

Pinkie had gotten over her giggle fit as well, "Like cupcakes?"

Rainbow looked at her with a grin, "Like cupcakes, but sweeter!"

Twilight forced a smile, "Well, as much as I think that was very unnecessary, Rainbow... At least you're feeling better now," she looked up at the clock, "It's already 10:30? We should probably get back to the palace, I have some more organizing to do before sleeping," she looked at Rainbow again, "And you'll want rest, since you have a big day tomorrow."

Rainbow groaned again, "Yeah, don't remind me."

* * *

The sky was clear above the city of Canterlot, the only exception being the thick pillars and rings of cloud that were seemingly scattered haphazardly across the sky. Different members of the Wonderbolts moved them around, positioning them just right; after awhile, a clear path began to appear. Thick poles were hammered into the fluffy frames of every ring, each one bearing a numbered sign. Each of the thick, puffy pillars were placed randomly in between each of the rings to act as obstacles, each one rotated differently for added variety in the track.

Rainbow paced around in a circle, her face wearing a slight frown of concentration. Pinkie followed the same path as Rainbow, "I can see why this is fun! It's like a merry-go-round; going up and down, up and down, up and down!"

Rainbow stopped and turned around, rolling her eyes, "That's only because you're hopping around, Pinkie," she grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders, stopping her motions.

Pinkie's pupils continued to bounce up and down, "Still very bouncy!"

Rainbow sighed and let go of her, allowing Pinkie to continue her hyperactive movements. She walked to the bench and laid back against it's flat surface to stare up at the clear, blue sky. She watched the different pegasi workers as they positioned clouds for the track. She yawned and turned her head, noticing Fluttershy flying toward her with Spitfire; a grin formed on her face as she got up to meet them, "So, how was flight practice?"

Spitfire turned her head toward Fluttershy, smiling, "She did pretty well, actually. Still plenty of room for improvement, but a decent start. She'll need to work her wings daily, not really to the point of exhaustion... Maybe two or three hours a day?" she turned to Fluttershy, "Not a lot, really. Just do that for a month, and you'll see some results."

Rainbow grinned at Fluttershy when she sighed, "Told ya!"

Spitfire turned back to face Rainbow, a grin spread across her face, too, "So, Rainbow, you ready for your showdown against Fleetfoot?" Rainbow dropped the grin and swallowed, sweat forming on her brow. Spitfire laughed, "It's only a race for fun, don't be so nervous about it!"

Rainbow nodded slowly, "Right, nothing to be nervous about... Nothing at all..."

Soarin' and Fleetfoot flew down to meet the group. Soarin' wiped a bit of sweat from his head, "Those clouds sure are heavy for being white fluff. Anyway, we're ready for the race if you are, Rainbow Dash. It's only about 2:00 right now, but we can start at any time!"

Fleetfoot nodded and walked over to Rainbow, a pair of goggles being held by the strip in her mouth. She dropped them into Rainbow's raised hoof, "Here ya go. You'll probably want those."

Rainbow nodded with a nervous smile, "Thanks," she looked at her friends. All but one had been able to make it to the race; Rarity had once again been really busy with fulfilling orders. She had expressed interest in going, but couldn't find the time. _That's good enough, I guess._ Rainbow thought, looking back down at the goggles in her hoof. She nodded in determination and pulled them over her eyes. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she was still nervous, but this felt right. She opened her eyes and released her breath with a grin, _This is right... I'm going to beat a Wonderbolt!_

Fleetfoot slid down her goggles to cover her own eyes, "So, you ready for the race?"

Rainbow nodded, "Yup, I think I'm ready to win."

Fleetfoot laughed. Spitfire grinned, turning around, "Okay then, winner, let's go."

The group of four pegasi made their way to the starting line; a platform of cloud kept them on their hooves. The two competing pegasi looked on at the course designed specifically for them; Rainbow wore an awestruck look on her face, her eyes widened to their max potential.

"That suit ya, Rainbow Dash?" Soarin' said, grinning up at the course, "I designed it!"

Spitfire laughed, "Oh, please, Soarin'! You only designed the drop at the end."

Rainbow looked down at the two Wonderbolts, a wide smile on her face, and nodded, "Yup! Talk about awesome... I was expecting a few sharp turns and maybe some obstacles... But not _this!_"

The course had a series of ups and downs, following each of the numbered rings of cloud. There were sharp turns, spiraling sets of cloud pillars, and webs of cloud. The course was about thirty rings in length, with roughly two-hundred feet in between each of the circular clouds; short if that's all there was, but the obstacles would make it a bit tougher.

"Now," Spitfire said, gaining their attention, "Here's the rules: You must travel through every single ring. You see those signs on them? They tell you the order to pass through them. If you miss one, you have to go back around and go through it. It shouldn't be too tough, though. They're pretty much lined up, except around ring thirteen; there's a sharp turn to the left there," she stopped and looked at Soarin'.

Soarin' nodded to her and continued, "You see those pillars of cloud? They're super-condensed to act as physical barriers; they're soft enough to not cause serious injury if you crash into them, but they will push you away from them. Now, there is one part before the final descent that has those pillars going every which way; it's pretty much a thick web of cloud," he looked between the two and nodded, "Now, you may tackle the pillars however you'd like; but you _must_ go through them, not around them."

Rainbow and Fleetfoot nodded as they continued to look on at the track, memorizing every curve.

Rainbow's heart was racing, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her eyes followed every ring, took note of every obstacle. She looked away from the track at the sound of her name, "Huh?"

Fleetfoot smirked, "Good luck to ya, Rainbow Dash," she put her hoof out to her.

Rainbow looked down at the hoof and smiled, "Yeah, good luck to you, too, Fleetfoot."

The two ponies lined up at the starting line. Soarin' had a whistle in hoof, and looked at Spitfire; she nodded. He looked back at the ponies and brought the whistle up to his mouth. Rainbow and Fleetfoot readied themselves, flapping their wings slowly to loosen them; they looked at Soarin' out of the corner of their eyes. Soarin' smiled and blew the whistle.

The two pegasi launched forward from the line, blowing the platform of cloud away. Rainbow took the lead, making a sharp turn along the original track of the derby, and passing through the first of thirty rings. She looked up and saw the second ring higher up in the sky; a few cloud pillars littered the path to it. Rainbow sped forward, dodging the first two obstacles with ease. She grinned at the third and flew in a tiny loop around it. She looked back to see how far behind Fleetfoot was, and frowned, _Huh? Where is she?_ She looked ahead and saw her rival passing through the second ring, _Wait, what? _She sped through the ring after her.

Fleetfoot continued forward, a satisfied smile formed on her lips. She looked beside her; her smile vanished when she saw Rainbow was there, smiling back at her. Rainbow spun up and around to the other side of her. Rainbow grinned at her before speeding ahead. Fleetfoot shook her head before grinning herself, "She's not the only one who knows tricks," she sped on after Rainbow.

* * *

"Woo! Go Dashie!" Pinkie yelled out, jumping up and down on her hind legs.

Fluttershy looked at Pinkie with a smile before looking back at the race, "Go, Rainbow, woohoo!" she cheered quietly.

Pinkie stopped and looked at her, "Uh, I can't hear you, Fluttershy! And if I can't hear you, then she can't hear you. And if she can't hear you, then she can't win!"

Fluttershy's ears drooped slightly, "You think I should shout louder?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes, "Well, _duh!_ Here, follow my lead.." she turned back to the race and rose on her hind legs again. She looked at Fluttershy as she did the same, "Now, like this: WOOO! GO DASHIE! YOU CAN DO IT! WOOOO!" she dropped back down and looked at Fluttershy with upward-turned eyes, "See? Like that."

Twilight was sitting on the bench beside Spike and Applejack. She sorted through papers, searching for something, "Now, where did I put that list of new arrivals..."

"GO RAINBOW DASH! PASS HER, YOU CAN DO IT! YES!"

Twilight looked up from her papers and sighed, "Looks like Pinkie got Fluttershy cheering, too.." she placed the stack of papers down, and picked up another with her magic, "Ah, here it is!"

Applejack leaned over to look at it, "What is it?"

Twilight placed the papers back down on the bench, with the page she sought on top. Spike uncorked the inkwell and placed it down for her, she wet the end of her quill with ink and began writing, "This is a list of the new arrivals to the palace. Pretty much a guest list."

"Ah," Applejack said, looking back at the race, "So, uh, why'd y'all have ta come here anyway? I know the princess had some business ta tend to an' all... But she's done that before, an' never asked ya fer help."

Twilight sighed, placing the quill down, "I'm not exactly sure what's going on, Applejack..."

Spike was shuffling through papers beside Twilight, "Princess Celestia said that she had to meet with a prince."

"Yes," Twilight continued, "A messenger had arrived from Snow Peaks asking for the princess to meet with their prince."

Applejack looked at her, "What's Snow Peaks?"

"WATCH OUT RAINBOW! YOU'RE GOING TO CRA- False alarm! She's fine!" Pinkie yelled out.

Fluttershy nodded at her, "I don't think she would crash that easily..."

Twilight sighed, "Anyway, Snow Peaks is a kingdom to the north of Equestria. It's mostly a collection of cold, snow-covered mountains. It's where the three tribes came from before moving to Equestria... At least, the mountains were; Snow Peaks didn't come to exist until well after Equestria was formed."

Applejack leaned back a little, watching as Rainbow pushed ahead of Fleetfoot, passing through the fifteenth ring of their race, "Must be mighty cold there."

Twilight nodded, picking her quill up once again to write.

"Hello, ladies!"

Twilight looked to her left. Spike ran past her, "Rarity!"

Rarity smiled at Spike, "Hello Spikey-Wikey!" she rubbed the top of his head with her hoof.

Spike wobbled dizzily and shook himself off, "What are you doing here? Not that I'm, uh, complaining... I mean, I'm glad you're here and..." he, sighed, a deep blush coloring his cheeks, "I thought you had to work on dresses for the Gala."

"I did," Rarity said, moving over to the benches to sit down on the other side of Twilight's stack of papers, "But I managed to convince some kind Stallions in the palace to help with them."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her slightly, "Do they even know how to stitch a dress?"

Rarity laughed slightly, "Well, they said they knew Fancypants. So I'm assuming they-" a strong gust of wind hit, blowing Rarity's hat off. She gasped, "My hat!"

Twilight watched the hat fly over the edge of the derby. Her eyes widened as she realized something, "No! My work!" she tried to save the stacks of paper as they blew away, throwing her magic out to catch the flying sheets; she managed to catch a few in a stasis field of magic, but most blew over the edge with Rarity's hat.

She sighed and looked up at the sky as thunder cracked. She watched as dark clouds lurked over the mountain to swallow the blue sky. Twilight looked around the racetrack, looking for the two racing pegasi. She spotted them and looked on with worry-filled eyes, _This can't be good..._

* * *

_What was that?_ Rainbow slowed to a stop and turned around, _What the hay? There shouldn't be any rain! Especially not today, with the race going... OH NO!_ She turned to see Fleetfoot taking advantage of her distracted state; she flew through another ring, the twenty-second one. Rainbow looked up at the loop in front of her; the twentieth, "I don't think so!" she sped forward, vanquishing the ring of clouds.

She spun through a set of spiraling cloud pillars, not bothering to slow down, and then crisscrossed through another series of vertical pillars. She passed through the twenty-first ring, narrowing her eyes at her target: Fleetfoot, as she neared the twenty-third ring. She was catching up, if only slowly; she flapped her wings faster and harder to try and make up for the difference.

Several more cloud pillars later, she passed through the twenty-second ring and checked on her opponent. She gasped, _She's not even through the next ring yet? _She smiled, _Then maybe I can catch up!_

She passed through two more rings, dodging pillars along the way. She was almost on Fleetfoot's tail now. Ahead was a thick spider's web of cloud; pillars thrown around haphazardly, creating many tight-fitting spaces and sharp turns. Fleetfoot entered the jungle of clouds first. Rainbow narrowed her brows and bared her teeth as she followed her in.

Immediately, Rainbow was forced to slow herself down to dodge an incoming pillar. She gasped as another one appeared right in front of her; she spun herself to the left in an attempt to avoid it and nearly crashed into another. She slowed herself to plan out her course of action, _Soarin' wasn't kidding about this being a web... _She looked around and noticed a slight break in the clouds. She nodded to herself and sped through the opening, prepared to face any obstacle she may find around the corner. She corkscrewed through a series of tightly-knit clouds, swerving in between each of them at a steady speed. A wall of white appeared in front of her, causing her to slow to a stop to look around, "I can't afford to keep having to stop!" she flew toward the wall quickly, turning around without stopping. Using her forward momentum to her advantage, she bucked the wall with all her strength, tearing a hole in the stiff clouds. Rainbow turned around to face her handiwork; blue painted the other side, _A way out!_ She smiled widely as she made a break for her gateway out.

Outside, she searched the sky ahead of her, looking for her rival, _Where is she?_ She heard a gasp faintly from behind her and smiled widely; that was her answer.

Fleetfoot appeared beside her, a nervous frown painted on her face. She looked at her slightly, "Ya know, Rainbow Dash... You're pretty good," she looked away and grinned, "But I hate to tell ya this, but I'm not going to lose," she looked back at Rainbow, her grin replaced with a snarl, "No matter what!"

Rainbow was knocked off course as Fleetfoot rammed into her side. She gasped as she slammed face-first into a thick pillar of cloud, knocking her well off-course. She rubbed her head with her hooves and shook herself free of the dizziness that took hold of her. She looked at the fleeing Fleetfoot as she tried to get her vision to focus. She growled, "Okay... If you wanna play like that, we can play like that!"

She sped after Fleetfoot, ignoring the ache in her head, and the burn in her wings. Her vision blurred again and she blinked, trying to fix it. She saw Fleetfoot pass through the twenty-seventh ring, "Darn it, wings! Go _faster!_" she urged; they reluctantly obliged.

She passed through the twenty-sixth ring as Fleetfoot reached the halfway point to the twenty-eighth. She breathed in, begging her wings to continue carrying her on. She passed through another set of pillars, swerving between the sets of vertical and horizontal lines of fluff. She passed through the twenty-seventh ring as Fleetfoot finally reached the twenty-eighth.

Rainbow continued on, urging her wings to go farther. Sweat drenched her face. She finally caught up with Fleetfoot at the twenty-ninth ring. Fleetfoot looked back and gasped, "What? How are you here?"

Rainbow growled, "That was a dirty tactic, Fleetfoot!" Rain began to pour from the sky, washing away her sweat, she shook her head to try to clear her goggles of the water. The wind gusted slightly, throwing them slightly off; they compensated.

Fleetfoot frowned at her, "Maybe it was, but you have to work to beat me!"

The two looked down at the final ring; it was a steep drop to get to it. Pillars of cloud blocked the path, spread out far enough from one another to not be too much of a problem. Rainbow took a deep breath before releasing it with a grin at Fleetfoot, "You want work? I'll _show_ you work!"

Rainbow turned sharply downward, instantly dodging the first of many spread-apart pillars. She closed her eyes tightly, _Wings, please... Don't fail me now!_ She opened them, a spark of determination shining through. She sped downward, not bothering to slow down for obstacles. She spun out of the way of another pillar, barely missing it. She bit her lip and continued her speeding descent.

* * *

Twilight and the others stood leaning over the safety rails, spectating the final moments of the race. The rain picked up, soaking all of them; All besides Rarity, at least, who had Spike holding an umbrella above her to keep her out of the wet.

They watched as Rainbow sped down the steep descent toward the finish. Twilight shook her head in disbelief, "Is she crazy? She could get herself _killed_ if something goes wrong!" she looked around at the pouring rain. A gust of wind blew the umbrella out of Spike's claws, causing him to fall against Rarity, she shrieked at the invading rain. Lightning struck across the sky. Twilight shook her head harshly, hating nature for proving her point, "Something will definitely go wrong!"

* * *

Rainbow dodged another pillar as she neared the final ring. She snuck a quick glance behind her; Fleetfoot was now far behind her. She looked ahead again at the approaching ring, still guarded by a few remaining cloud pillars. She scowled, _You want to see work? I'll show you something I know you'll NEVER do, Fleetfoot!_

A cone began to form around her body, starting out wide, but quickly tightening around her as she picked up more speed. The wind gusted, blowing her goggles, loosened from her crash, off her face. She ignored it as she approached the final cloud obstacle. The cone tightened to the point of bursting. The wind buffeted against her figure, blowing her slightly to the left. She tried to compensate, but tipped her wing against the final pillar, causing her to spin out of control.

She gasped, trying to regain control. The cone quickly dissipated as she spiraled through the final ring, earning her the victory she dreamed of. She tried to straighten herself, but her spinning was too erratic; she couldn't regain control!

She began to panic, _Think, Rainbow, think! Okay... calm down..._ She took a deep breath and calmed herself down enough to slow down. She released the breath as she regained control of her flight and pulled up. She leveled out and came to a complete stop, panting as she looked around at her surroundings. She shook herself as she tried to regain her breath.

Fleetfoot flew down to her, "Are you alright? That was some crazy spinning you did there..."

Rainbow glanced up at her, still panting, "Yeah... I'm fine..."

"Ya know, Rainbow Dash..." Fleetfoot said, slapping a hoof onto her back, "That must of taken a lot of guts to do that... Especially in this weather," she looked around and sighed, "Look, I'm sorry for what I did back there. It was wrong of me... Not like it mattered anyway; you destroyed me at the end there!"

Rainbow laughed, "Yeah, I kinda did... Didn't I?" she grinned at her, "Told ya I could beat you!"

Fleetfoot laughed, "I'll be sure to believe you next time... Anyway, we should get back to the derby. This rain isn't natural, doesn't make sense why it's here."

Rainbow shook her head, "Yeah, I don't remember rain being scheduled for Canterlot today..."

The duo made their way back to the derby. Pegasi flew above them, kicking clouds out of the sky. Rainbow arrived first, and walked straight to Spitfire and Soarin', who were talking to a Pegasus from weather control. She turned to the weather control pony, "Hey! What's going on? Why's it raining?"

The pony turned to her, "We had a bit of a mix up in Cloudsdale... The rain was scheduled for next week, but somepony messed up and brought it a week early."

Twilight and the others walked up to Rainbow, each wearing a relieved look. Twilight spoke first, "Are you okay, Rainbow?"

Rainbow nodded, grinning, "Yup! Of course I am. A little bit of rain won't take me down so easily!"

Applejack stepped up to her, eyes narrowed, "No, but yer recklessness will! What the hay were ya thinkin'? Ya could of gotten hurt!"

"Or worse," Twilight added.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Oh, please. I've done worse than that!"

Spitfire walked over to them, Soarin' traveling behind her. She grinned, "I'll tell ya one thing, Rainbow Dash. That was quite the display! I know what you were trying to pull off, and it's a shame you weren't able to do it."

Soarin' nodded, "Yeah, that Sonic Rainboom of yours would've probably cleared these rainclouds a lot faster than these weather control pegasi... Would've been a lot cheaper, also.. I can't believe they would charge two-hundred bits to clean up a mess that _they_ made... Ridiculous."

Rainbow shrugged, "I probably would've had it, too, if it wasn't for the weather..."

Spitfire laughed, "Well, either way, that _was_ Wonderbolts material."

Rainbow gasped, her eyes widening, _Oh my gosh! Is she saying..._

"Regrettably," Spitfire continued, "we have no open positions on the team to accept you."

Rainbow collapsed, sighing deeply, _Game over..._

"But!" Spitfire said, causing Rainbow to look back up at her, "I will be talking to Fleetfoot about her little stunt up there. I'm not making any promises, because I need to talk to Soarin' and the rest of the team. But if they're in favor... Maybe we'll let you take her place. No promises, though!"

Rainbow's eyes lit up and she shot up to her hooves again, _Straight from the captain's mouth! The possibility of being a Wonderbolt! Just have to take Fleetfoot's..._ Her gaze dropped again, and she shook her head, "I can't accept that if Fleetfoot's kicked out..."

Spitfire shrugged, "Well, we'll see what happens in the future then, eh?" she smiled at her, "Catch ya later, Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow watched her walk away and pounded her hoof into the ground, "I can't believe I just did that..."

Twilight smiled at her, "That was a good thing you did, Rainbow! They're easily aware of you, now. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Yeah," Rainbow sighed, turning to the group, "I guess..."

Twilight shook her head, "Spike? Give me that envelope, please," he did as she asked, and she opened it with her magic, smiling, "I was going to wait until next week to do this, but I think now is as good a time as any," she pulled out seven golden tickets, earning an audible gasp from everypony, and Spike.

Rainbow looked at the shining tickets, "Tickets to the Gala..?"

Twilight nodded, "Yep! The princess gave me these a month ago. I've just been waiting for the right time to hand them out!" she looked at Spike, whose eyes were glued to the tickets, "I'll tell you one thing. It was really hard to keep these secret; especially from Spike, since he likes to snoop around sometimes."

She handed out the tickets to each of her friends, each one smiling widely as they held their tickets. They all crowded her, hugging her to show their thanks.

Rainbow looked down at her ticket, a wide smile replacing the frown she had worn before, _Maybe today wasn't so bad... And it can only get better from here! My second Gala... Here I come!_


	5. Chapter 05: At The Gala

**Chapter Five: At The Gala**

"Oh, where is it?" Rarity sifted through an assortment of fabrics scattered on a wooden counter, "I mean, honestly! Only hours away from the Grand Galloping Gala, and I can't even find the materials needed to complete these dresses," she dropped the fabrics on the oaken countertop and opened a bag beside it.

A knocking came from the door, "Where's my dress?"

Rarity groaned, ignoring the ferocious tapping, "Do they want their dresses or not? It is difficult to work when all I hear is a consistent banging on the door," she sighed, "Now, now, Rarity... They just want their dresses. They did pay for them after all..."

The knocking continued, "I say, this delay will cost me valuable time at the Grand Galloping Gala! I hope you do not expect pay for your tardiness, Miss Rarity!"

Rarity sighed as she continued searching the bag for the item she needed, "Ah, yes... That makes this situation _so_ much better... Well, I suppose I'll have to deal with the consequences of my lateness and accept no pay."

She growled in annoyance and turned the bag upside down, allowing its contents to spill out across the carpeted floor.

Spike made his way over to her, a needle with the thread knotted around the loop in one claw, "What are you looking for?"

Rarity looked over at him with an annoyed frown. She sighed and shook herself of the look, "My sewing machine ran out of thread, and I can't find a spool anywhere!"

Fluttershy stood by another counter, a sewing machine in front of her working its magic on a dress of light-blue fabric. She pressed a button on it to stop it and looked over her shoulder, "What color thread did you need?"

"Pink thread, Fluttershy," Rarity said, dumping another bag out onto the floor to examine.

"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped as she looked on the floor beside her station. Finding the object she desired, she picked it up and placed it by Rarity's sewing machine, "There you go. Spike had some from earlier."

Rarity blinked at the thread from beside the mess on the floor, before breathing in to calm herself.

Spike swallowed fearfully, "I-I'm sorry, Rarity... I didn't know-"

Rarity shushed him softly, "No, no, Spike.. It's fine. At least we do have some." She walked back to her workstation, ignoring the remains of the bags on the floor.

Another knocking came from the door. Rarity bit her lip slightly, "None of this would've happened if it weren't for those imposters! I mean, honestly! The nerve of pretending to be employed by Fancypants..."

Spike had gone back to his place beside Fluttershy, the threaded needle in claw as he stitched two pieces of blue ribbon together. He looked up from his work, "What did they do, anyway?"

"Oh, don't get me started!" Rarity pounded her hoof on the counter, "First, they lied to me about working for Fancypants. Then one of them clumsily knocked over a lit torch and burns half the finished dresses, not to mention the entire room!" she breathed in to calm herself and shook her head, "It's beyond me why the choice of lighting in a place such as this would be fire.. Why not use magic-lit lamps? There's no shortage of magic here in Canterlot..."

Spike shrugged, "I think that Princess Luna had asked for the change. She enjoyed the darker light that flames give."

"Ah, yes," Rarity said, levitating a set of pink and white artificial flowers onto her dress, "I suppose that makes sense... Still, it's so primitive!"

"Um, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked from her station.

Rarity continued placing the flowers on the dress, not bothering to look away from her work, "Yes, dear?"

Fluttershy looked at her machine, "I think the machine ran out of magic.."

Rarity nodded her head and gently placed the rest of the flowers down, "Yes, I suppose it is time for a recharge," she charged her horn as she approached the powerless machine, a faint blue glow surrounding both, "This will only take a moment." She closed her eyes as waves of light-blue invaded the machine. After a moment, a small, yellow light blinked back to life, "There.. That should do the trick."

Fluttershy nodded with a smile, "Thank you,"

Rarity shook her head and smiled, "No need to thank me. I should be one thanking you two. I really do appreciate your assistance," she sighed and looked at the dress she had made for Fluttershy for the first Gala, and at the one that Fluttershy had finished for her, both worn neatly by mannequins, "Even if the customers are unhappy, and I don't get paid... The least I can do is deliver the most extravagant, luxurious dresses that I can possibly manage... I'm going to have to if I want to save my image."

"I'm sure they're going to love these dresses, Rarity!" Spike said, looking up from his work as he stitched, "I mean, look at them! They're beauti-OW!" he jumped up from the ground in surprise, spitting out a spew of green flames.

Fluttershy yelled out, dodging the flames. She looked down on the ground, "Oh, no..."

Rarity rushed over to them, "What happened? Are you okay, Spike?"

Spike stuck one of his clawed fingers in his mouth, "Yeah, just stuck myself. Ouch, that hurts..."

"You need to be more careful..." Rarity said, looking down at the remains of the blue ribbon Spike had been stitching.

Spike followed her gaze and gasped when he saw the ashes, "Oh my gosh, Rarity! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to- _mmph!_" he was cut off by Rarity as she gently placed a hoof on his mouth to quiet him.

She shook her head, "It's okay, Spike. I know it was an accident," she turned around, removing her hoof from Spike's mouth, "We can remedy this! I have a large assortment of ribbons, I'm sure we have plenty of blue ones for Fluttershy's dress."

She made her way to a wooden hanger in the corner of the room. Several curving stems of red wood branched off the center support, each one held a variety of colored ribbons. Her horn glowed as her magic shifted each of the lengthy ribbons around in an attempt to find the color she needed. She gasped when she didn't find it, "There's no blue? Why is there no blue? There's green, and yellow, and red... Even this hideous-looking black. But no _blue!_"

Rarity let go of her magic, causing some of the ribbons to plummet to the ground. She paced back and forth as she thought of her next move.

A knocking came at the door again; Rarity growled, picking up a spool of thread with her magic and launching it at the door. The knocking stopped.

Satisfied, Rarity brought a hoof up to her chin and thought, "Aha! That's it!" she raced over to Spike, "Spikey! There's a bag of ribbons in my room, in the corner by the door. Would you be so kind as to go and get those for me?"

Spike swooned at her touch, a blush creeping into his cheeks. He shook himself and brought his claw up in a salute, "Of course I will! Anything for you, Rarity!" he turned and began to walk to the door.

"No, no, no!" Rarity called out, grabbing him by the shoulder; he turned to her in confusion. She shook her head, "Not the front door, Spike; the patrons would run you over if that door opened... No, we need another way."

Rarity looked around the room and spotted a window, "Hmm, maybe.." she walked to the window and pushed it open with both hooves. She looked around; a ledge ran along the outside of the wall leading in both directions. Far to the right, vines grew up the wall to balconies above. She looked down and gasped, "Oh, no way am I letting my Spikey-Wikey go out there..."

Fluttershy came over and poked her head out the window, "Oh, I agree... Wouldn't be a good idea to send him out a window on the third floor..."

Spike hopped in the window to see what the two ponies were looking at and gulped at the sight.

Rarity pondered their moves, "Well, if Spike can ease his way along one of those ledges... _No!_ I can't believe I just considered that!" she turned away from the window with Fluttershy, "That would be way too dangerous.. I wouldn't want him attempting something like that.. No, I'll find another way to get the rib..." her eyes widened, "Spike?"

Rarity turned to find the window vacant of the purple dragon. She gasped, "_Spike!_" Her and Fluttershy ran to the window, instinctively looking down. Not seeing anything, they looked along the ledges and saw Spike inching his way along one of them, "Spike! You get back here this instant!"

Spike looked at her out of the corner of his eye and kept on toward one of the vine-covered walls.

Rarity's breathing quickened, "Spike! Sweetie... Please, come back?" Upon seeing that Spike wouldn't listen, she turned to Fluttershy, "Quick, bring him back!"

"No!" Spike said, looking back at them, "Don't do it, Fluttershy. We're in this mess because of me, so I'm going to get the ribbons. You need to stay and help Rarity finish the dresses," he looked at Rarity sadly, "It's my fault.. So, please, let me fix it."

Rarity stared at him for a second before hanging her head and sighing, "Okay... But I swear if you get hurt, I'll... I'll... I don't know what I'll do..." she looked at him with a narrowed brow, "But d_on't_ you go and get hurt!"

Spike nodded and gave a kind smile, "I'll be okay!" he looked down and gulped, "I hope..."

* * *

Twilight Sparkle stood by Princess Celestia as she greeted guests to the Gala.

Princess Celestia had arrived back in Canterlot only five days before from her trip to meet the prince of Snow Peaks. She had said that the trip had been more pleasant than she expected, but didn't go into any details about their conversation. All she had really stated was that the prince seemed to be a very troubled stallion.

Twilight looked around the entry hall; it was a large, square room, expanding up multiple stories. Two large pillars sat in the middle of the room, on either side of the red strip of carpet that ran down the center, leading from the door to the staircase where she now stood with the princess. The stone ceiling was vaulted; large banners hung down the center, above the carpeted path. Stallions and Mares were scattered across the room, each wearing elegant fashion only seen in Canterlot.

Twilight breathed a bored sigh, _Why does this feel like __Déjà vu__?_

"Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight looked around suddenly, until she realized who was talking to her, "Oh, uh... Yes princess?"

Princess Celestia chuckled slightly and smiled at her pupil, "There is no reason for you to have to stand here the entire night with me. Go and find your friends; you deserve to enjoy yourself this time."

Twilight lowered her head slightly, "But, Princess Celestia..."

"Do not worry, Twilight, I will be sure to come and find you when I have finished greeting out guests." Celestia smiled.

Twilight smiled back and nodded, "Thank you, princess!"

She turned up the remaining flight of stairs and entered the grand ballroom. The room was large and, unlike much of the palace, had elegantly-carved wooden panels covering the gray, stone walls; colorful paintings of varying sizes hung along them. Large, wooden tables, clothed in white silk, was spread out evenly along the exterior of the large room; padded, purple chairs surrounded each of the tables. The center of the room was left open to serve as an area for dancing, the wooden floors showed their polish.

Just like with the entry hall, the ballroom was filled with finely-dressed ponies, mainly nobles or others of high-class. Twilight saw a few recognizable faces in the crowd. She spotted a crowd of ponies surrounding a mare with a pale, light-grayish gold coat and brilliant blue mane. She grinned; she remembered Rarity talking about this Pony of Pop, _I'll have to try and sneak a conversation in with her later._

On the far end of the room was a stage, complete with a DJ booth and magic-powered speakers, glowing a faint white to show they were powered; loud music resonated from them. Behind the booth were two ponies: One was a female unicorn with a pale yellow coat, almost white in the dim light, and a striped blue and cyan mane; she wore purple sunglasses. The other pony was... Well, Pinkie Pie.

Twilight shook her head and searched the room for signs of anypony else she knew. She spotted Rainbow Dash and Applejack sitting at a table near one of the large Monticello-styled windows. Just like her, they wore the dresses that were specifically made for their first Gala appearance. She smiled and began her trek through the crowds toward them.

Applejack sat comfortably in one of the soft, purple chairs by the window, pondering Rainbow's question, "Gosh, I haven't really thought about what ta do this year. I guess I'll try an' get some business fer the farm by advertisin' ta some of the pony folk here," she sighed and straightened her hat, "Dunno how I'll manage without some of the delicious apples from Sweet Apple Acres, but I'll figure somethin' out."

Rainbow Dash sat across from her in her own chair. She grinned, "Well, good luck with that. I know that I'm gonna try and get some hang time with the Wonderbolts."

Applejack raised an eye at her, "Ya sure have been spendin' a lot of time with them lately. Ya sure yer not already a Wonderbolt?"

Rainbow laughed, "Nah, they forgave Fleetfoot, so I won't be taking her spot. Not like I wanted to, anyway. She played a little dirty during the race, sure.. But who hasn't?"

"Definitely not you," Applejack grinned.

Rainbow crossed her hooves, "Hey, that was only _one_ time! Besides, it's not like you were any better..."

Applejack saw Twilight and laughed, "Yeah, an' we both lost to her," she nodded toward the approaching pony.

Rainbow turned her head toward Twilight, "Oh, what's up, Twi? Thought you were hanging with the princess."

Twilight smiled at them, taking one of the empty seats, "I was, but she's busy with greeting the guests. She gave me leave so I could hang out with you guys!"

Rainbow hopped off her seat, "Well, I would stay and chat, but I've gotta talk to Spitfire."

Twilight's ears drooped slightly, "What, already?"

"Yup, afraid so," Rainbow said, as she unstuck her rainbow-colored dress from the chair. She tugged it loose with an annoyed growl, "And this is why I don't usually wear dresses..."

Applejack laughed, "Ah, quit yer whinin'. At least it makes ya look presentable."

Rainbow sighed, "Yeah... I guess," she looked up and grinned at Applejack, "Speaking of presentable, Soarin' has been talking about how much he can't wait to get a taste of 'those apple pies'..."

Applejack's eyes widened in surprise, "You wouldn't dare..."

Rainbow laughed, "Oh, I would! I'd say you better get to baking," she turned to Twilight and smiled, "Hey, don't worry. I'll come talk to ya after I hang with the Wonderbolts a bit. In the meantime..." she glanced over at the DJ booth and grinned, "You could go hang with Pinkie and the DJ... or save the DJ _from_ Pinkie."

Twilight watched as Rainbow walked away and sighed, turning to Applejack, "I guess you're leaving too?"

Applejack nodded her head slightly, "'Afraid Rainbow's not givin' me much of a choice. Wouldn't look good on the farm if I didn't have any promised treats... Even if Rainbow's the one doin' the promisin'."

Static hissed from the speakers by the DJ booth, earning loud groans of distaste from the guests. Twilight and Applejack covered their ears. Applejack shook her head, "I agree with Rainbow, though. You should probably go an' fetch Pinkie before she breaks somethin'."

Twilight nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, I suppose I should... Well, go and get those pies baked, then," she turned and began to make her way to the booth, leaving Applejack to her own problems.

Pinkie was operating one of the turntables of the booth, her eyes turned upward in a smile. She moved her hoof around the record, nodding her head to the music.

The DJ looked at her irritably, "You know that's not how it works, right?"

Pinkie looked at the blue-maned DJ, her head still nodding, "What do you mean? That's how you were doing it, silly filly!"

The DJ shook her head, "Wrong! I scratch like this..." she placed her hoof on the turntable in front of Pinkie and moved the record back and forth in a rhythm, "That's the correct way to scratch... You're just spinning it around in circles... And you know you're spinning it backwards, right?"

Twilight walked up to the two ponies, looking between them as they talked, "Um.. Is Pinkie being a problem?"

The annoyed disc jockey opened her mouth to speak, but Pinkie spoke first, "Nope! We're just rocking out!"

The DJ shook her head, "No, I'm just here preventing you from breaking anything else..."

Twilight looked at her inquiringly, "Anything... else? What did she break?"

"I didn't break anything!" Pinkie stopped and listened intently. She gasped, "But the sounds broken! I can't hear anything! Is it my ears? Twilight, speak to me!"

The DJ rolled her eyes at Pinkie, "No... I'm just not powering that turntable with you on it..."

Pinkie looked at her turntable, "Oh... That's why it wasn't glowing..." she looked at the DJ, "Can you turn it back on?"

The DJ shook her head, "Nope."

Pinkie put on pleading eyes, "Please?"

The DJ shook her head again, "Not happening."

"Pretty please with sugar, and sprinkles, and cupcake icing on top?"

The DJ looked at her directly behind her purple shades, "No..."

After a second of staring at her, Pinkie burst out, "I say turn this thing on, and that's _Vinyl!_" she snorted a laugh and went into a giggle fit.

The DJ groaned, "That's DJ Pon-3! Don't use my real name..."

Twilight sighed and concentrated on Pinkie; a light-purple glow surrounding both her horn and Pinkie. She raised her over the DJ booth and brought her back down beside her. She turned to Vinyl Scratch, "I'm sorry about that, _DJ Pon-3,_" she looked at Pinkie, "I'll get Pinkie Pie out of your way."

Vinyl sighed, "Thanks... I may have bits to spare, but I don't want to replace all my equipment in one night..." she powered the vacant turntable again and went back to her work.

Twilight turned Pinkie around and led her back to her table by the window, "Come on, Pinkie, we'll find something else that's fun to do."

* * *

Spike wiped his brow as he held tight to the rough, rock walls of the palace. He looked over the edge and swallowed hard at the sight, "Oh gosh... I was always told to not look down, why do I have to go and not listen?" he shook his head and looked up at his destination. Above him was a large, stone balcony, supported by stone beams protruding from the wall. On one side, against the wall, was a giant tangle of vines, snaking their way up against the gray and white stone.

Spike shook his head, "Ah, forget it.. Let's get this over with," he grabbed hold of one of the thick vines and pulled at it. Satisfied with its grip to the wall, he pulled himself up. He eased his way up the wall, being careful to check the strength of each vine before putting his full weight on it. Eventually, he reached the top, pulling himself over the stone rails of the balcony. He hit the ground, rolling over onto his back to catch his breath, "That... wasn't... too bad..."

Spike eased himself back onto his feet as he looked around, "Is this even Rarity's room?" he strenuously dragged one of the heavy, stone stools to the window and peeked through the semi-open curtains. As far as he could tell, it had to be her room; it was far too well decorated for it not to be.

He shrugged and jumped off the stool and opened the door. Inside confirmed his suspicions. The walls were covered in paintings and drapes to cover up the dull gray of the walls. The floor wore a rich purple carpet. Every torch went unlit in the room, magic-lit lamps served as their replacement. In the corner of the room, by the entrance, was a stack of boxes and bags, just as Rarity had stated.

Spike smiled and made his way across the room. He searched the different bags, looking for the blue ribbons he had promised his crush. Not finding them in the first bag, he laid it to the side and searched another, "Nothing! She did say it was in a bag... right?" he opened another bag and peeked in, "Aha! Found you!" he pulled out a claw-full of ribbons.

He sorted through them quickly, filtering out any ribbon that wasn't the deep blue that Fluttershy's dress needed. When he was done, he placed the bag back on the boxes neatly, and folded the remaining ribbons neatly for easy transport, "Now to get these to Rarity... Oh man, she's going to love me for this!"

He made his way back to the balcony and looked over the edge where the vines were. He gulped as he backed away, "On second thought... I think I'll take the front door..."

* * *

Rainbow made her way through the maze of hedges, coming out on the other end to see what seemed to be hundreds of finely-dressed ponies. She sighed, _Great... How am I supposed to find them..._

Rainbow walked through the crowds, looking in between each group in a vain attempt to find a sign of any of the Wonderbolts. Each group ignored her and continued conversing with other guests. She dodged a few wandering ponies and rolled her eyes at their scolding. Another few groups and near-collisions with wandering nobles later, Rainbow groaned and launched herself up into the sky for an aerial view of the gardens.

She flew around slowly, searching for any signs of Spitfire or the other Wonderbolts. Still not finding them, she growled, _Where are they? I was sure they would be out here... There! _She spotted a glimpse of fire-orange by a large, circular fountain. She grinned and flew down to confirm her sighting.

By the fountain, Spitfire, Soarin', Fleetfoot, and Rapidfire stood, chatting about an upcoming race. Fleetfoot saw Rainbow and smiled, "Hey there, Rainbow!" the other members turned to look up at Rainbow.

Soarin' waved as Rainbow landed, "What's up, Dash? Your friend bring any of those delicious pies again?"

Spitfire laughed, "Soarin': Always thinking of food..."

Soarin' frowned at her, "What? I'm hungry..."

Rainbow grinned, "Actually, I think she's making some right now. If you hurry, you may be able to grab one before there's none left!"

Soarin' let out a shocked gasp, his eyes widening, "None... left? Not if I can help it!" he took off running, nearly knocking Rainbow over, "My bad! Coming through!" he yelled at nobles as he cut in between groups of them.

Spitfire sighed at his sudden disappearance, "I should consider pie as pay for him... Maybe he'd perform like that on the track," the group laughed and nodded in agreement.

Rapidfire glanced in the direction Soarin' went, "Well, I should be following him... He stole my pie last time I got one. I don't know what it is with him and pie, but he owes me!" he took a few steps forward and nodded to Rainbow with a grin before running off after the pie-hungry stallion.

Rainbow raised an eye at him and turned to the remaining two mares, "Did Soarin' really do that?"

Fleetfoot shook her head with a laugh, "Nah, Rapidfire just likes to be a pain in Soarin's flank... They're practically brothers; goofing off and fighting all the time."

Rainbow smiled, "So... What was that I heard about a race?"

Spitfire attempted to answer, but Fleetfoot spoke quickly, "You're not allowed to participate. We don't need you winning the race and making us look bad!" she laughed to show she was joking.

Spitfire rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Don't listen to her; you can come join in if you want. We're having a mock race between the whole team... Well, besides Lightning Streak. He's still out..."

"How's he holding up?" Rainbow asked with concern.

Spitfire and Fleetfoot shook their heads. Fleetfoot sighed, "Not good..."

Spitfire nodded slowly, her eyes lowered in sad expression, "He's out with a bad break in his wing. The doctor says they think he'll recover, but not fully. He may never have the strength he did before the crash..." she looked up and smiled sadly, "He's a fighter, though, so I'm sure he'll find a way to keep going."

Rainbow nodded, "Yeah... It's gotta be tough. I know how it is; I fractured my wing one time, was stuck on the ground for at least a weak... Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, though!"

The two Wonderbolts tilted their heads slightly in confusion. "How so?" Spitfire asked.

"Well," Rainbow began with a grin, "I was introduced to one of the most awesome fillies ever."

Fleetfoot laughed slightly, "And that is?"

Rainbow looked between the two, "Daring Do," Spitfire burst out laughing, causing Rainbow to growl, "Hey! I only read those books! Nothing funny about that..."

"Oh, no!" Spitfire said, calming herself, "No, Rainbow.. I'm not laughing at that. I'm just laughing at the irony of this."

"Irony?" Rainbow said, confused.

Spitfire grinned, "Yup. I read occasionally, too. I actually really like the Daring Do books."

Rainbow's eyes went wide in shock, "No way! Spitfire's an egghead? Seriously?" Spitfire nodded. Rainbow laughed, "That's totally awesome! At least I'm not the only one..."

Spitfire grinned excitedly, "Yeah, you read the new book?"

Rainbow nodded, "The Sea Serpent Shrine? Yeah, just finished it a few days ago."

"What did ya think about that part near the end with the volcano erupting?"

Rainbow cringed at the thought, "I seriously thought Daring was done for... I mean, the lava got close enough to burn her tail hairs. That's insane!"

Spitfire nodded with a laugh, "Yeah... She's one tough pony, that's for sure... Can't say the same about her hat, though."

Rainbow grinned, "Yeah... All-in-all, the book was great," she turned around, "Anyway, I'm heading back inside to check on Twilight. I kinda left her with Pinkie..."

Fleetfoot chuckled lightly, "She's the crazy, pink one, right?"

Rainbow nodded, "Yup, nailed it!"

Spitfire nodded her head toward one of the palace entrances, "Then... We should probably go."

Rainbow and Fleetfoot nodded and follow Spitfire inside.

* * *

Spike walked down the torch-lit hallway. Only a few serving ponies walked the halls, each wearing a tuxedo or dress. Spike easily dodged them and continued on his way to Rarity's temporary workspace. He held the ribbons in his arm, careful not to damage them.

As he made his way through the halls, more and more ponies began to appear. Spike dodged the guests, holding the ribbons close to his chest to protect them.

He turned down another hall and stopped, "Aw, seriously?"

The hall was filled with ponies, the mass creating a wall with small breaks in it. Spike made his way to the wall of ponies and searched for a gap wide enough for him to fit through. Finding one, he eased himself in and bumped into the hind leg of a stallion. The stallion looked down at Spike with disapproving eyes and pushed him away.

Spike sighed, "I forgot how big of jerks nobles can be..." he continued on his way through the crowds, catching a word of their conversations here and there; nothing really interesting from what he could tell, except for one thing. Spike slowed down by a group of noble mares wearing extravagantly-crafted dresses.

"Oh, your dress looks absolutely _divine!_"

"Yes, it is quite beautiful. Who designed it?"

"The fashion designer staying here at the palace. Miss Rarity, I believe her name was?"

Spike put on a prideful look as he listened to the ponies spout praises for his crush, not paying attention to what was in front of him. He crashed into something and fell back, dropping the bundled ribbons onto the floor. Spike rubbed his head and looked up to see what he had run into, "Oh, I'm sorry, sir!"

The stallion looked down at Spike with mild surprise. He had a white coat and gray mane, and wore light armor across his torso. "Hmm," he looked around the hall for a moment before looking back down at Spike, "Perhaps you could help me with something, young dragon?"

Spike picked himself up off the ground and began to retrieve the fallen ribbons, "Uh, sure."

The stallion gave a relieved smile, "Would you be so kind as to point me to where your princess is? None of these ponies will even answer me..."

Spike retrieved the last of the ribbons and bundled them up in his arms again, "Uh.. Sure, just... Hey, wait a minute. You're that messenger from a couple of weeks ago!"

The messenger nodded, "Yes, I was here before. Not to be rude, but would you please guide me to your princess?"

Spike looked down at the ribbons and sighed, "I can't show you myself, sir, because I have to deliver these ribbons. But if you go down this hall," he pointed over his shoulder back down the hall he had come, "And head down the flight of stairs at the end, you'll end up on the first floor. Come back this way and you'll find the entry hall; can't miss it, has a giant staircase. She should be there... If she's not there, she'll probably be in the grand ballroom; right behind those stairs on the second floor."

The messenger nodded, his expression neutral, "Thank you," he hurried on his way down the hall.

Spike looked on after him, "Gee, he sure was in a rush... Oh well, I gotta get these ribbons to Rarity, pronto!"

* * *

Twilight rested her head on a propped-up hoof, watching and waiting for Pinkie Pie to make her next move. She watched as the pink pony concentrated on the parchment between them, a pencil in her mouth. Twilight looked between her and the parchment multiple times before lowering her own hovering pencil onto the table with a sigh, "So... are you going to take your turn?"

Pinkie shushed her and continued to concentrate intently on the paper. She slowly lowered her pencil to the parchment, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she watched her friend struggle to make her decision. Finally, Pinkie made her move, placing an O in the middle square of the tic-tac-toe grid. Twilight smiled and readied her pencil, lowering it down to the bottom right square and placing an X.

Pinkie gasped, "You're gonna beat me again! Why do I always lose to you?"

Twilight laughed, "Because I'm not Rarity! No offense to her..."

Applejack walked up to the table with a serving cart holding several apple pies in tow, "Hah! Beat Rainbow back here!"

"So you did..." Rainbow said, walking up to the table with four Wonderbolts behind her, "Wouldn't have if we didn't have to go find Soarin' and Rapidfire..."

Applejack grinned, sticking her tongue out.

Rainbow groaned, "It wasn't a race anyway!"

Applejack laughed, "Oh, it's only not a race when you lose, sugarcube."

Soarin' eased his way by Rainbow toward the cart of steaming apple pies, his mouth turned upward in a wide smile.

Applejack smiled at him, "Go ahead, slobber boy, eat up! Made them fer y'all anyway."

Soarin' nodded and grabbed one by the edge of the pan with his teeth, "Don' min' if I do!"

The music stopped and the ponies looked around. Twilight spotted who had come into the room, "It's the princesses!"

The group lowered, along with the rest of the ponies in attendance. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna made their way to the group by the window.

Celestia smiled, "Rise, my little ponies, no need to be so formal tonight."

Luna sniffed the air lightly, "I smell something sweet... Baked apples?"

The ponies all rose. Applejack nodded, "Yes, princess, I baked up some apple pies for anypony interested. If y'all would like a bite to eat, we've got plenty."

Celestia smiled and nodded, "That would be delightful, Applejack. I-"

The door slammed open, drawing the attention of everypony. The messenger in light armor appeared, making his way toward the group.

Princess Celestia turned to face him directly, "You're back, kind messenger?"

He stopped, not even bothering to bow, "Your highness, the ships have landed."


	6. Chapter 06: A Turn of Events

**Chapter Six: A Turn of Events**

"These ships were larger than we originally thought," the messenger paced across the floor in between the princesses and the rest in attendance. He stopped, "Very large, indeed. We estimate each possibly held at least one-hundred passengers."

"My, there is certainly quite a gathering in here."

Everypony turned to see who had spoken. Rarity walked in, speaking with Fluttershy and Spike in a hushed voice. She looked up and saw everypony looking at her, "Oh, uh... Forgive my intrusion," she chuckled nervously, "Spike informed Fluttershy and I that he saw that messenger from Snow Peaks again. We thought that we should be here if..." she stopped when she noticed Twilight shaking her head at her. She nodded and continued into the room silently with Spike and Fluttershy in tow.

Princess Celestia nodded, "Yes, please continue, Sir Swift Passage."

Swift Passage cleared his throat, "Well, these creatures stood on their hind legs, and each wore clothes or armor. They were armed with swords and spears, bows and arrows. They are not here for peaceful purposes."

Princess Celestia left her sister's side and walked down the carpeted, golden steps of her throne to the pacing messenger, "Kind messenger, these strangers could be armed for defensive purposes only."

"Sister," Princess Luna walked down to join them. She looked up at her big sister, "Do you honestly believe that an army of at least three-hundred of these... creatures... are here for peaceful relations?"

Celestia looked down at her younger sister and sighed, "It is wrong to accuse these new-comers to our land without first having proof of any wrong intentions."

Swift coughed, stopping the argument, "Pardon me, Your Highness, but if I may continue?"

The royal sisters nodded.

Swift exhaled and nodded, "These two-legged intruders have been setting up camps; cutting down the forests in the area to supply the wood. Now, I know this isn't unnatural. We cut down trees, ourselves, for the same purposes. But we also regulate how we do so, to best not damage the natural habitats of the creatures. These intruders have disregarded any of that and are in the process of tearing down entire forests; the wildlife are losing their homes. And to top it all off," he narrowed his eyes at the thought, "these intruders are killing the wildlife, both for food and sport."

Fluttershy gasped audibly, "K-killing? Oh, no... Those poor creatures... How... How could anyone do such a thing? They're defenseless..."

Swift Passage nodded, "My point exactly," he turned to face the princesses, "These intruders are not here peacefully. As I stated before, they hunt for more than food. They hunt for sport; laughing at the misery of the injured creatures," he brought a hoof up to his chin in thought, "Now, in Snow Peaks, we don't have many creatures; mainly only Windigoes and other beasts of the snow. But we have enough knowledge of the furry creatures of Equestria to know that they cannot live without homes. So even if they do escape the treachery of these savages, they won't have many places to go... Especially considering that the intruders are expanding outward, sending scouts to explore the land."

Princess Celestia looked down in worry, "Yes, this evidence is overwhelmingly against them..." she looked up and faced Spitfire and her small group of assembled Wonderbolts, "Spitfire, scouting will be needed after all. We will need to know their rate of expansion."

Spitfire nodded, a look of business on her face, "Yes, princess, I'll prepare the team."

Swift cut in, "The prince has stated that he will do what he can to remove the threat from Equestria."

Rainbow Dash looked at him questioningly, "Hold on a second, why are you Snow Peaks ponies even in Equestria to begin with? Shouldn't you be up in Snow Peaks doing... whatever it is you do up there?"

Twilight shot a glance at her, "Rainbow! That's just being rude-"

Swift held up a hoof, "No, no. The young pegasus asked a valid question. So she deserves a valid answer," he turned toward the group of ponies, "Although there is not a lot of communication between Snow Peaks and Equestria, we are on very good terms. Every now and then, patrols are sent out from Salvation to scan-"

"Oh, oh!" Pinkie jumped up and down, her hoof waving in the air, "What's Salvation?"

Swift Passage sighed, "Salvation is the capital of Snow Peaks. It's one of the safest locations in all of the kingdom. Now, if I may continue?"

Pinkie nodded her head with a smile.

"Okay, the patrols are sent out to scan the coasts of both Snow Peaks and Equestria for signs of any of the dangerous creatures from the sea, such as the Elder Hydras or Kraken."

Applejack blinked, "Elder..." she shook her head, "So, uh, what do y'all do if y'all find any sea creatures?"

"Well," Swift Passage said, facing Applejack, "at one time, the patrols would opt to kill the creatures with a combination of weapons and unicorn magic, so they would no longer pose a threat. The prince was displeased with this and ordered that all future sea creatures be deterred with barriers of severe weather and magic. He has never believed in violence..."

Fluttershy let out the breath she had been holding. Everypony looked at her. She glanced around at them, "What? I'm just happy they don't have to be hurt anymore... Even if they are terrifying, pony-eating monsters..."

Twilight turned to face Swift, "Sir, exactly how large on these creatures?"

Swift Passage sighed, "An Elder Hydra can grow to be double the size of any normal Hydra, with the Kraken being about the size of a Hydra."

The ponies' jaws dropped at that.

Swift shook his head to face the royalty again, "We are getting sidetracked, now. During one of their flights, the patrols spotted the ships and reported their findings to the prince. He ordered the ships be kept in our view at all times in order to know their course. Although slow, they were approaching the shores of Equestria. With that knowledge, he sent me here with the request of you meeting with him at a camp by the border of Snow Peaks and Equestria. He was fearful of what the ships could mean; that's why he asked permission to set up camps all along the shores of Equestria."

Princess Celestia nodded, "And that is why I granted him permission to do so. I had thought it would help to ease his worries... It seems that he was right to be worried."

Swift Passage nodded, "Yes. The prince ordered soldiers to hide in the clouds directly above the shores to spy on the new-comers... As soon as it was obvious that they were a danger, I was sent here with haste to inform you."

Princess Luna looked at him curiously, "Is there anything else you can tell us about these two-legged creatures?"

Swift nodded his head in thought, "Well, Princess Luna, they had horses."

Twilight gasped, "Horses? Real horses?"

Swift nodded, "Yes, real horses. They're not quite as rare in Snow Peaks as they are here in Equestria..."

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion, "What's so special about these _real_ horses? Aren't they like us?"

Swift fixed his eyes on her, "It's true that horses and ponies are similar, seeing as to how we're both equines. But the primary differences lie in size and intelligence. They are much larger, similar to Princess Celestia in size, and they are incapable of speech. They are very capable workers, though," he turned to Princess Luna, "And that's exactly what I feel these two-legged intruders use the horses for. Hard labor and transport."

Luna quickly glanced up at her sister before setting her eyes back onto the messenger, "So, slavery then?"

Swift slowly nodded, "It can be viewed as such, yes. Other than that, Princess Luna, I know nothing else."

Luna nodded and glanced up at her sister, "Celestia, we should send our forces to drive away these invaders."

Celestia looked down at her sister and shook her head, "Dear sister, if we do that, how much different would we be than them? I would rather this not come to violence," she glanced at Spitfire, who was waiting for further instructions, "Spitfire, get your Wonderbolts ready and scout the shores," she glanced at the messenger out of the corner of her eye, "I want you to report any and all findings to any of the soldiers from Snow Peaks. I'll be sure that Sir Swift Passage will supply you the locations of all their camps."

Spitfire nodded and bowed. Once she saw the princesses had directed their conversation toward the Snow Peaks messenger, she turned toward the three other Wonderbolts with her, "Okay, here's the deal. I want us to split up into four groups. Soarin', I want you to lead Blaze and High Winds up to the northern shores, near Newpony. Fleetfoot, I want you to lead Fire Streak and Misty down to the southern shores. Rapidfire, you'll lead Surprise and Wave Chill to the Great Rainbow Falls area, north of Fleetfoot's group. And I'll lead..."

Soarin' looked at her, "Spitfire, that leaves you alone... Silver Lining is away visiting family up in Manehattan, and..."

"And Lightning Streak is out with a broken wing... I know, Soarin'," she brought a hoof up to her chin in thought. She looked around and grinned, "Though, I think I've got the perfect solution. Hey Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash turned away from her conversation with Twilight and walked toward them, "Yeah, what's up?"

Spitfire continued to grin, "I hear that you've always wanted to be a Wonderbolt..." she looked at Rainbow's eyes begin to bulge and laughed, "This will only be temporary, but how would you like to be one of us?"

Everypony gasped from behind Rainbow. Rainbow opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She looked around and swallowed, _Is... Is this happening? Did she just... She did... She just asked..._ Her mouth turned up into the biggest smile she could manage, "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, _yes!_"

Spitfire grinned, "Welcome aboard, then, Rookie! We don't have any spare outfits, sorry." she looked down in concentration again, "That still leaves one more spot... Otherwise, we'll be going alone, Rainbow."

Rainbow glanced to the ground, "Hmm... Who else can..." she looked up and at Fluttershy before a grin planted itself on her face, "Hey, Fluttershy! Just curious, how are those flight lessons going?"

Spitfire looked at Rainbow and then at Fluttershy before grinning herself.

Fluttershy put on a thoughtful smile, recalling her lessons, "Well, I think I'm getting much better, actually! Though, I think I still need prac- Wait, why?"

"Well," Rainbow started, "ya know. I was thinking that with your flight training and all..."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide, "Oh, no! I don't think that would be a very good idea..."

Rainbow looked at Spitfire. Spitfire nodded and walked up to Fluttershy, "I honestly think that you'd do alright. We won't be going very fast in order to save energy."

Rainbow nodded, running up to Fluttershy as well, "Yeah! Think about it, Fluttershy. It'd be great practice! And it'll help you strengthen your wings even more."

Applejack grabbed Rainbow by her rainbow-colored dress and pulled her away from Fluttershy, "Now hold on there, sugarcube. Y'all shouldn't be pushin' her into situations she ain't comfortable with."

Twilight nodded her agreement, "Fluttershy should only go if she felt she was ready to handle something like that," she looked at Fluttershy, "And I don't think she looks like she's ready..."

Rainbow rolled her eyes at that, "Well, look at it this way... She's been through flight school, this can be her exam!"

Pinkie jumped in, "Oh! If she passes, we can throw her that graduation party I was talking about!" she sat down and brought a hoof up to her chin in thought, "Now, what did I call that..? Oh yeah! The 'Better-Flier-Fluttershy' party!" she began to hop around the large group of gathered ponies.

Rarity shook her head at Pinkie, "Pinkie Pie, is there ever a time where you're not thinking of a party?"

Pinkie nodded her head, "Of course there is! There was that one time... Um... I'll get back to you on that," she sat down and pondered the question.

Rainbow shook her head and looked back at Fluttershy, "You know, Fluttershy... There are probably a lot of cute, little creatures that need-"

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity snapped and walked toward her with an angered look on her face, "Honestly, this has got to be a new low for you. Using the needy, little creatures to bribe one of your friends into doing something that they-"

"No..." Fluttershy looked up from the ground, "It's okay, Rarity. Rainbow Dash is only restating the truth," she slowly made her way over to Spitfire and Rainbow Dash, "I'll join you."

Twilight looked at her, "Are you sure, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy nodded toward her, "I'm sure, Twilight," she looked at the ground, "I can't stand the thought of poor, innocent, little creatures being hurt. I want to help them."

Rainbow turned to Spitfire and smiled, "We have our third!"

Princess Celestia walked toward them, with Princess Luna and Swift Passage on either side of her, "If you have finished your planning, I'll write a royal decree, stating that the train between Canterlot and Ponyville will run through the night so that you can arrive in Ponyville bright and early tomorrow to prepare for your trip. I'll want you to be on your way as soon as you can manage."

Spitfire nodded, "Thank you, princess. That will let us rest up for a long day of flying tomorrow," she turned to Swift Passage, "If you could get a list of the camp locations together for me, I'd be grateful."

Swift nodded to her, "I'll get them for you," he bowed before the princesses and made his leave.

Spitfire turned to the group, "Okay, everypony! We better get ready; next stop: Ponyville!"

* * *

The sun peeked over the mountains, basking the land in golden light. Besides a few stray clouds, the sky was clear. It was early out and the only noises were those that came from that of singing birds; and the loud whistle of a inbound train.

The train slowed to a stop at the Ponyville station, letting off another whistle to signal its arrival. The doors to the passenger cars opened, allowing the nocturnal travelers to exit. First were the Wonderbolts, led by Spitfire and Soarin'; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed. Twilight Sparkle, with Spike riding on her back, exited next, followed by Applejack, then Rarity, and finally Pinkie Pie, hopping her way down the stairs as if they weren't even there.

After a moment, Mr. Boxcar poked his head out of the door and looked around, "Is _she_ gone?" he whispered to himself. Not seeing anything but the large group of ponies walking away from the train station, he began to make his way down the stairs, breathing out a relieved sigh, "Well, as long as that darned Rainbow-maned pony is-"

"Boo!"

Mr. Boxcar gasped and stumbled down the stairs, landing on the ground with a loud _thud. _He heard laughing and groaned, "Can't you just give me a day of peace?"

Rainbow jumped down off the train car, smiling widely, "Eh, lighten up, old timer! It's all in good fun."

"Oh, it's all in good fun, she says..." Boxcar mocked as he got off the ground and brushed himself off, "You have a twisted sense of what's fun and what's not. You know that?" he shook his head and sighed, "You know, if I had known that blowing that whistle in your ear would lead to all of this, I never would've done it."

Rainbow grinned, "Well, that's what you get! I still have a whistling in my ears from that day."

Boxcar shook his head, "Yeah, I'm sure you do... Tell you what, I'll give you this whistle... Just as long as you leave me alone... _Forever._"

Rainbow laughed, "What would I need a whistle for?" she thought about it for a moment before grinning at Boxcar, "You know what? I'll take it!"

Boxcar nodded and pulled the whistle out from where it rested in his conductor's shirt. He pulled the cord over his head and placed it in Rainbow's hoof, "There, now... Just leave me alone, yeah?"

Rainbow looked at the whistle before nodding, "Of course I will, I don't need to bug you anymore, seeing as to how I won."

Boxcar raised an eyebrow at her, "Won?"

Rainbow smiled and held up the whistle, "Yup, I won. And _this_ is my trophy!" she placed the whistle in her saddlebags and turned to lift off.

Boxcar shook his head, "Yeah, yeah... You won, _woohoo..._"

Rainbow landed beside her friends at the rear of the pack of traveling ponies, "Sorry about that, had to finish some business."

Twilight glanced over from her conversation with Fluttershy, "What business? Were you bothering the conductor again?"

Rainbow put on an innocent smile, "Me? No, no, no... Of course not! He was just apologizing for all the times he tried to get under my skin... He even gave me his whistle as a peace-offering," she took the whistle out to show them.

Applejack walked up to their side, "Uh-huh, I'm sure that's how it went."

Rainbow put the whistle away, "Yeah, that's exactly how- Aw, what the hay. That whistle is my trophy for _winning!_"

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Well, does that mean you'll leave him alone now?"

Rainbow nodded with a grin.

Spitfire fell back to walk beside them and looked at Rainbow, "Is there anything you or Fluttershy need to take care of before we leave?"

"Yeah," Rainbow said, "I need to go check on Tank and make sure he's okay. I left him plenty of food and water before we left for Canterlot, but I don't think he'd last for however much longer I'll be gone for. Also, I'd like to make sure there's somepony that can watch over him while I'm gone."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, "Yes, I'll need somepony to watch after the animals at my cottage, as well."

Twilight smiled at both of them, "I think that we can all pitch in to help watch your animals!"

Applejack nodded, "Yeah, I reckon it won't be too tough a job ta handle."

Pinkie Pie hopped up beside Applejack, nearly knocking her out of the way, "Oh, I can help too! I have experience taking care of babies, after all."

Rarity chuckled lightly at that, "Pinkie Pie, dear, I don't think foal-sitting is exactly the same thing as animal-sitting."

Pinkie looked at her with a slight frown, "Well, nothing can be as tough as the first time I took care of Pumpkin and Pound Cake... Besides! I take care of Gummy, so I know how to take care of animals, too!"

Applejack grinned, "I think that Pinkie would do an alright job... Just as long as she don't go an' try ta invite all the animals to a party." Everypony but Pinkie laughed.

Pinkie growled slightly, "Hey! I don't only think of parties, ya know! I can be responsible, too."

Applejack finished laughing and shook her head, "Simmer down now, sugarcube. I'm only messin' with ya."

Pinkie blinked a couple times before laughing, "Oh, okay!"

Spitfire shook her head and chuckled, "Well, I think that settles that problem... I'll tell ya one thing, Rainbow; you sure have some interesting friends."

Rainbow grinned back at them, "Yeah, they're cool, though."

Spitfire looked around, "Well, we're here now. So, why don't you two go and handle what you need to do and meet me in the center of town."

Rainbow nodded and turned to Fluttershy, "I'll meet ya at your place, Fluttershy. Just going to get my things together and get Tank. I'll let you figure out who's gonna be watching after Tank and your animals."

Fluttershy nodded and turned to the other ponies behind them, "Okay, let's go to my cottage. I need to get my things together, too," she broke off from the group and began heading toward the forest, the others following."

Rainbow watched as they disappeared behind some buildings before turning back to Spitfire, "Alright, I'll catch ya later, Spitfire," she launched herself into the sky and began to make her way to her home in the sky.

* * *

Rainbow Dash landed on the soft, puffy clouds of the floating, white island that was her home. She looked up at it and smiled; it's thick pillars held up clouds with intricate curves and swirls. Rainbows shot out from cloud to cloud, raining down droplets of water on the ground far below. She opened the door and entered.

Where the exterior was intricate and impressive, the interior was much more plain, just the way Rainbow preferred, _Who needs fancy decorations, anyway?_ The walls were predominately a light-bluish gray in color, with swirls of light-gray and white running along them; waves of dark-blue ran along the bottom of the walls. The floor was a checkerboard of light and dark-gray. In one corner of the entry room was a wide, spiraling staircase leading up to the second floor, and to her bedroom.

She made her way across the room to the staircase and made her way up, careful to not step on the fragile ramp that she had thrown together when she got Tank, so that he could maneuver up and down the stairs as well. Once at the top, she made her way down the hall toward her room. Pictures hung along the wall; one of her with her friends, and another of her with the entirety of the Wonderbolts team after she won the Best Young Fliers competition, _I can't believe how shocked I looked in that picture... Sure, it was the Wonderbolts, but come on, Rainbow... I didn't even know it was physically possible to smile that wide..._ She shrugged and opened the door to her room.

Her room was plainly-decorated; only a couple of random pictures hung from the walls. Her bed of swirling clouds and fabrics rested on top of a risen area of the floor. Two nightstands stood on either side of the bed, one held a picture frame.

Rainbow made her way over and placed her saddlebags on the end of the bed. She sat down on the edge and took the picture in hoof. Two ponies gazed through the picture at her. The mare smiled at her with kind eyes, her mane was the same as Rainbow's, except she wore hers in a ponytail, the rope of rainbow hair tangling down her shoulder; her coat was a light-gray, and her eyes a brilliant sky-blue. The stallion stared through the picture with kind eyes as well, but no smile. His mane was a dark-blue, combed back in a professional manner; his coat was a light-blue, similar to her own coat, and his eyes were a brilliant rose in color, just like hers.

Rainbow sighed at them and smiled lightly, "You never thought I'd make it, huh pops?" she whispered, "Well, I did..." she looked away from the picture in thought, "I _did_ make it... Even if it's only temporary. I made it into the Wonderbolts..."

Rainbow put the picture down and walked around to the end of the bed, opening the flaps of her saddlebags. She looked on the other side of the bed and grinned; Tank slept in a small, makeshift bed lined with blue blankets. She cleared her throat, loud enough to gain Tank's attention. He poked his head out of his shell and looked around slowly, then up at Rainbow, before smiling.

"What's up, Tank?" Rainbow greeted him as she began pulling different items out of her saddlebags, "Sorry I was gone for so long; had some business in Canterlot," she pulled out the little whistle and looked at it before shrugging and placing it back into the saddlebags, "And you won't believe it! I got accepted into the Wonderbolts!" she looked at Tank, a wide smile on her face, "The _Wonderbolts!_"

Tank slowly made his way over to Rainbow.

Rainbow looked down at him and smiled. She picked him up and placed him down on her bed, before going back to rummage through her bags. She sighed softly, "Well... It's only temporary, but at least I can finally say I was a Wonderbolt!" she looked at Tank, he was nodding at her. She laughed and looked down at the collection of items she had picked up from her trip to Canterlot; random ornaments she didn't really know the use for, but they had looked pretty cool, so she'd find someplace to put them.

She gathered them up and placed them on a shelf built into one of the walls, "I'll organize these later," she made her way back to the bed and pulled out more random objects from her saddlebags, "Oh yeah... I hate to say this, but I'll be leaving again for a while. I don't know when I'll be back-" she looked over at Tank and saw him pulling his head back into his shell, _Uh oh..._ She sighed and dropped the objects she was holding, "Hey, come on... I'll be back! I promise."

Tank didn't budge. Rainbow shook her head and made her way over to where Tank hid on her bed. She gently placed a hoof on his shell and peeked in at him, "I'm gonna take you to Fluttershy's place... You can see your old friends again! She's coming with me, too, though... So you'll end up seeing all the girls. Twilight, AJ, Rarity, Pinkie..." she looked down in thought, "Okay, maybe you'll be lucky if Pinkie ends up being busy... But hey, you'll have fun! Better than being stuck in here the whole time, right?"

Tank poked his head out, finally, and looked up at Rainbow. He nodded slowly.

Rainbow giggled at him, "You'll have fun, I know you will!" she bent down and kissed him gently on his head before making her way back to the saddlebags.

She pulled out a book,_ History of the... Seriously, Twilight? The only one that's been reading this was you, why give it back to me? _She placed the book back into the bags, _I'll just give it back to her._

She checked the bags for anything else unwanted. Finding nothing else, she closed the flaps and put the bags over her back, "I'll be back in a few, Tank. Just gotta get some food for the trip."

Rainbow made her way down the stairs to the kitchen and began sifting through the different cabinets, "Let's see... Hay, oats, apples," she pulled the apple out and grimaced, "Rotten apples... Great, I guess I'll have to swing by Sweet Apple Acres to get some for the trip," she threw the apples into the food-disposal bin under one of the counter tops – A hole in the floor that allowed food to fall to the ground to decompose.

She made her way to a cooler box and opened it, "Hmm... Milk? Nah, that won't last long. Vegetables? They'll do! Let's see... Carrots, celery, tomatoes..." she groaned, "The tomatoes are going bad, too? Darn it!" she grabbed the tomatoes and sent them chasing after the rotten apples.

Rainbow grabbed the rest of the vegetables from the cooler, and the hay and oats from the cabinet, and placed them all in her saddlebags, "There, that should do until we reach another town."

She walked back up the stairs and reentered her bedroom. She made her way to the closet and pulled out Tank's flight gear and turned to face the patient tortoise on her bed, "Okay, Tank, let's get this gear on you... Time to go!"

* * *

Fluttershy opened the door to her cottage and walked in, followed by the train of her friends. The room was decorated neatly with furniture; the couch and chairs were supported by wooden frames and finished off with comfortable-looking green cushions. The wooden walls held beautiful paintings of creatures of all kinds running about in nature. The timber floors were bare, except for one large, circular carpet in the center of the room. Aside from all the decorations, bird houses and other tiny homes for critters hung from the ceiling and rested on the floor.

She placed her saddlebags down on the floor beside the door and smiled, "Angel? Where are you, Angel?" she looked around the room before turning to her friends, "Hmm, that's strange. He would normally come to me when I called..." she gasped and her eyes grew large with panic, "Oh, no, no, no! What if something happened?" Fluttershy ran around the room, looking under the couch and chair, in the various critter homes, and behind the books on the bookshelf, _Oh goodness, where could Angel bunny be?_

Twilight looked back at her friends, "Come on, girls, let's help her find Angel," they all spread out across the room to look for the missing bunny. Twilight made her way across the room to her frantic friend, "I'm sure that Angel is alright, Fluttershy-"

"But... What if he's not? Oh, no... I knew I shouldn't have left... Angel!" Fluttershy searched under the dining table, sighing when she didn't see him.

Twilight trotted over to her, "Do you think he may be outside?"

Fluttershy looked up at her, "I sure hope so, he's not in here..." she rose from her position at the table and ran outside, her friends following. Fluttershy trotted up to Angel's little wooden house in the yard and looked in, _I do hope that he's in-, _"Ouch!" she backed away from the hole as a half-eaten carrot planted itself on her face and fell to the ground at the entrance to the little bunny's home. Fluttershy wiped her watering eyes and looked back in the house, "Angel?"

Angel hopped out of his home and crossed his little arms, looking at her disapprovingly. He pointed at the cottage and shook his head, then at his little house and put his paws together beside his head as if resting, and finally he looked around before facing Fluttershy and making a swiping motion in front of him with both of his arms. He crossed his arms again and tapped his foot, waiting for an explanation.

Applejack looked curiously at the bunny, then at Fluttershy, "Uh, what's that supposed ta mean?"

Pinkie walked over to join them, smiling, "He said that he couldn't get in the cottage, so he had to sleep outside in his little house. He then looked all around for Fluttershy, but didn't find her anywhere. So now he's waiting for her to tell him why."

Applejack looked at her, "Ya know what? I'm just gonna stop bein' surprised by ya, Pinkie."

Rarity laughed, "I stopped being surprised a long time ago."

Fluttershy looked at Angel, surprised, "But, Angel, I told you where I was going. And I made sure your door to the cottage was unlocked..."

Angel blinked and tapped his chin in thought. He shrugged and pointed at her before putting his paws together, moving them to mimic talking. He put his paws up beside he head and made light, snoring sounds.

Fluttershy shook her head, "Oh, no, I don't think you were asleep, Angel..."

Angel stomped his foot and picked up his carrot before running past the group and heading back to the cottage.

Applejack shook her head as he left and turned to face Fluttershy, "That one sure is angry, ain't he?"

Fluttershy sighed and looked up at her friends, "That's just how he is. I'm just glad that he's okay."

Twilight took a few steps toward the cottage, "Fluttershy? I think you should get your stuff together. I'm sure Rainbow Dash will be here soon with Tank. She'll probably want you to be ready."

Fluttershy nodded, "Alright, but first I need to check on the chickens."

Twilight shook her head, "It's okay, Fluttershy. Spike?"

Spike lifted his head off of Twilight's back, "Huh...? It's morning already?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at him, "And that's why I told you to not stay up during the train ride..."

Spike lifted himself up and crossed his arms, "Hey, I thought that we were going to be staying up late for the Gala last night. I couldn't fall asleep on the train."

Twilight sighed, "Okay, fine. But could you wake up and check on the chickens for Fluttershy?"

"Chickens?" Spike looked around, "Oh, hey, look at that! We're at Fluttershy's place."

"No, really?" Twilight said sarcastically. She shook her head with a sigh, "Can you check, please?"

Spike hopped off her back, "Well, okay. Only because you said 'please,'" he made his way toward the chicken coop.

Pinkie hopped after him, "Oh, Spike, I'll help you!"

Fluttershy made her way into the cottage and lifted the saddlebags, carrying them over to the dining table. She placed the saddlebags down and searched the cabinets for supplies.

Twilight walked over to her, "Fluttershy, are you sure you want to go on this trip? I'm sure that Rainbow Dash and Spitfire would understand if you-"

"I'm going," Fluttershy said, facing her, "Those poor little creatures are being hurt... I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try my best to help them," she turned to the others, "They need a new home if their old homes are being taken away... I want to help. Even if that means..." she gulped and shook her head before opening another cabinet and pulling out various bags of grains, "Well... I'd rather not think about it."

Rarity pulled out a bushel of dandelions from the cabinet she was searching through and placed them in the opened saddlebags, "Well, Fluttershy, I can honestly say that you are being very courageous in going."

Twilight smiled, "Yes, we're proud of you, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy smiled and blushed as she put a small bundle of oats into the bags, "Thank you, girls."

Applejack closed the bags and checked to see if they were fastened. She glanced up at Fluttershy, "Now, don't y'all be gettin' yerselves into trouble. But... if y'all _do_ happen ta see those two-legged creatures, you show them how us ponies feel 'bout their behavior."

Pinkie poked her head through the front door, "Yeah! Show them we mean business!- Wait, what were we talking about again?"

Spike walked around her into the cottage, "It looks like all the animals are okay. Not a single feather missing on the chickens!"

Fluttershy smiled, "Thank you, Spike," she glanced up at the door, "Oh, hello Rainbow."

Pinkie looked behind her, "Hiya, Dashie!"

Rainbow Dash walked past Pinkie Pie, "Hey, Pinkie. Hello everypony," Tank flew in behind her and landed on the ground. She began to remove his flight gear and looked up at Fluttershy, "You ready to go, Fluttershy? We don't want to keep Spitfire waiting!"

Fluttershy nodded and turned to everypony in the room, "Okay, be sure to feed the chickens the seeds in the smaller barrel, they don't like the seeds in the larger one. And be careful with how you handle the baby bunnies out back, they scare easily. And the birds only like worms that are a certain length, so you'll have to look for them. And-"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Come on, Fluttershy. We have to go!" she grabbed her tail by the teeth, pulling her backwards toward the door.

Fluttershy continued, "And Angel is a picky eater; he'll only eat when everything is absolutely perfect. And-"

Twilight giggled, "Don't worry, Fluttershy! We'll take good care of them!"

Applejack nodded and lifted the saddlebags up by the teeth. She walked over to Fluttershy and placed them on her back, "Don't worry, y'all. The animals will be fine!"

Fluttershy sighed and nodded, "Thank you all again. I really appreciate it!"

Rainbow let go of Fluttershy's tail and turned to face the others, "Yeah, thanks! Oh yeah, and Twilight?" she pulled out a book with her teeth and placed it on a stand by the door, "I think you'll want that, since you're the only one that's been reading it!"

Twilight blinked, "Are you sure, Rainbow?"

Rainbow nodded, "Oh yeah, it's fine! Well, I guess we better get going," she looked down at Tank, who was looking at her with sad eyes. She sighed, "Don't worry, buddy. I'll be back soon!" she turned to Fluttershy, "Okay, let's get going. See you all later!"

The door closed. Twilight walked over to a table and grabbed a piece of paper and pencil, handing them to Spike, "Okay, now let's figure out who will be watching the animals, and on which days!"

* * *

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy landed on the ground in Town Square. Rainbow looked around; it was pretty busy now, with ponies going about their normal, everyday lives. She spotted Spitfire waiting by the entrance of the Town Hall, talking to the mayor. _Wait, where's the other Wonderbolts? They're already gone?_

The duo made their way to Spitfire, walking around a pony pushing a little foal in a stroller.

Spitfire saw them and finished up her conversation with the mayor, before trotting over to them with a grin, "Took ya long enough!"

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Yeah... Sorry about that! Where is everypony?"

"I've already given them their instructions. They're on their way now," Spitfire answered, "Are you two ready?"

Rainbow nodded and turned to Fluttershy, "You ready?"

Fluttershy looked around at the town before slowly nodding, "Ready."

Spitfire turned around, preparing her wings for launch, "Well, if we're ready to go, then let's-"

"Rainbow Dash!"

They turned toward the source of the voice. Rainbow grinned, "Hey, Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo quickly approached the group on her scooter, her wings flapping rapidly behind her to give her propulsion. She hopped over a protruding rock and skidded to a stop in front of the small gathering. She undid her helmet and placed it on the handles of her transport.

"How's it going?" Rainbow asked the young filly.

Scootaloo smiled up at her, "I'm doing okay. I heard that you were back and I just had to find you!" she looked down at the ground and kicked a small pebble loose from the ground, "Hey, um... I'm sorry for what happened with my parents..."

Rainbow laughed, "It's no big deal, they were just being parents... Even if they were a bit ungrateful."

Scootaloo slowly nodded, "Yeah, I guess..." she looked up at the other ponies, "Hey, Fluttershy-" she gasped when she saw Spitfire, her eyes growing larger, "Is she... a Wonderbolt?"

Rainbow glanced back at Spitfire and chuckled, "Yup! She's Spitfire, our captain."

Scootaloo stared at her with wide, admiring eyes, "I-I, uh.. I mean... um..."

Rainbow laughed, "You almost sound like me when I first met them."

Scootaloo blushed and rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish smile. She shook her head and shot a look back at Rainbow, "Wait.. 'our'? What do you mean?" her eyes widened, "Rainbow Dash... Are you a...

Rainbow smiled proudly, "A Wonderbolt?" she looked at Spitfire.

Spitfire nodded, "She is."

Scootaloo's eyes shined with excitement, "Wow, Rainbow Dash! Can you get any cooler?"

Rainbow shrugged and grinned, "I guess I am pretty awesome!"

Scootaloo looked around before walking up to Rainbow, "Um, could you help me with flying later?" she whispered.

Rainbow Dash sighed, "I can't, sorry. I'm about to leave..."

Scootaloo let her gaze fall to the ground, "Oh..."

"Hey," Rainbow said, getting Scootaloo's attention, "When I get back, I'll find some time and try to help you the best I can. I promise! But in the meantime, you need to keep strengthening your wings," she looked at the scooter, "What you did with your wings on the scooter will work just fine. Just keep doing that, and it'll help."

Scootaloo nodded and smiled lightly, "I'll try."

Spitfire walked over to her, "Hey, if there's time when we get back, maybe I'll give you some pointers, too."

Scootaloo's eyes lit up and she smiled widely, "Okay!"

Rainbow dropped her smile, "We have to go now, though."

Scootaloo nodded slowly, "Okay... Don't stay gone for so long this time!"

Rainbow grinned, "I'll be back before you know it! See ya then."

Scootaloo nodded, "Okay, see ya then, Rainbow Dash! Bye Fluttershy," she turned to Spitfire, "And you, too, Spitfire! Awesome to meet you!" she strapped her helmet back on and hopped on the back of the scooter. She looked back at Rainbow, "Rainbow Dash a Wonderbolt? Amazing..." she turned with a smile and allowed her wings to push her away.

Spitfire turned to Rainbow, "Cute kid."

Rainbow nodded, "Yeah, she's a pretty awesome little filly. We ready?"

Spitfire and Fluttershy nodded, the latter more reluctantly.

Rainbow grinned and launched herself into the air, "Okay, let's go!"


	7. Chapter 07: First Contact

**Chapter Seven: First Contact**

"Excuse me, ma'am, would you happen to know anything about strange creatures who walk on their hind legs?" Spitfire asked the old mare sitting at a table with a book in front of her. She looked around as she waited for the elderly mare to answer, before finally asking again, this time louder, "Um, excuse me... Miss?"

The old, gray mare looked up from her book, "What's that? Oh, hello there, young'un! What can I do for ya this fine day?"

Spitfire sighed and put on a polite smile, "I was wondering if you knew anything about strange creatures who walk on their hind legs?"

The old mare blinked and straightened her reading glasses, "Preachers talking about their kegs? You must mean them there orange grove ponies, always talkin' about their citrus ciders... Nasty stuff if you ask me. Now, when I was a young'un, I knew some good ciders... Let me tell ya, I knew this one stallion that made-"

"Uh, ma'am?" Spitfire interrupted.

The elder stopped talking and looked at Spitfire with narrowed eyes, her thick reading glasses sliding down her face, "Oh my, young'uns are so rude nowadays! Can't even wait their turns for talkin'..."

Spitfire sighed and rubbed the back of her head, "I'm sorry."

The old mare nodded her head, "That's fine, dear... Was there something ya needed?"

Spitfire blinked twice before shaking her head. She spoke loudly, "Yes, do you know anything about strange, two-legged creatures? By the shore?"

The mare looked around on the ground frantically before sighing, "You tryin' to scare me? I don't see any leeches on the floor... I don't even see a floor! Just dirt..."

Spitfire rolled her eyes, "Okay, this isn't going anywhere... Thank you for your time, ma'am!"

The mare waved her hoof, "Goodbye, young'un. Pleasure talkin' with ya!"

Spitfire walked down the hard-packed dirt road of the tiny village of Buckingham. The village was small, tiny in comparison to Ponyville, but had buildings of much the same design lining the road on both sides, leaving large enough gaps between them and the paths to allow for yard space.

Spitfire sighed, "I've been at this for an hour... Is there no pony that knows anything?" she looked around and spotted another resident; a unicorn with light-brown mane and tan coat, trimming a bush in front of her house. She made her way to the unicorn and put on another smile, "Excuse me, ma'am?

The brown-maned unicorn lowered the floating clippers to the ground and turned to Spitfire, "Oh, hello there, stranger! What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if you know anything about any strange creatures who only walk on their hind legs?" Spitfire asked.

The mare brought a hoof up to her chin, "Strange creatures? I haven't seen any creatures like that around here. And I haven't heard anything about them, either. Who are they? Are they dangerous?" she asked, fear beginning to seep through her voice.

Spitfire sighed and shrugged, "Well, we don't know if they're dangerous to us ponies or not... But they've been having at it with the forests and hurting the wildlife."

The mare picked the clippers up with her magic and placed them by the door. She turned to Spitfire, "Well, we have enough problems, with the food shortage and all," she brought her hoof up, "My name's Lily Blossom; you can call me Lily."

Spitfire brought her hoof up to meet Lily's, "And I'm Spitfire."

"Pleased to meet you, Spitfire. If you'd like, you can make yourself at home. I can try and help you in any way I can to find these strangers you speak of," Lily said, turning toward the door to her house.

Spitfire nodded and followed her inside, "Alright, that sounds like a plan."

* * *

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked down the rows of stalls in the open market, looking through the goods for what they desired: Food.

Rainbow glanced to her left at the following Fluttershy, "I still can't believe you had to go and give all of your food to those animals..."

Fluttershy dropped her gaze slightly, "I'm sorry, Rainbow... but those animals were hungry. They needed food in their bellies or they would've starved."

"Yeah, I know..." Rainbow sighed, "I know you did the right thing, but at the same time, I think they would've found food on their own."

Fluttershy shook her head and looked at Rainbow, "It's not good to just assume, Rainbow Dash. What if they couldn't find food? I don't like that thought..."

Rainbow peeked into another stall and found nothing, "I guess... Well, right now we're the ones that can't find food," she stopped and looked at all the stalls around them, "I mean, there's at least a dozen stalls here, and none of them have any food," she stopped at another stall and picked up a small object, "Just junk, like this thing."

The pony manning the stall looked at her angrily, "Hey! That there is _not_ junk!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes and placed the object back on the stall.

Fluttershy looked at the object and then turned toward the stall owner, "What is it?"

The owner picked up the object and looked to address Fluttershy, "This, my friend, is a good luck charm."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "A rock?"

"Well, yes... It is a rock. But not just any rock! Oh, no! This is a rock from the caves behind the Great Rainbow Falls!" The salespony said proudly, "They say that in just the right conditions, the stone will glow the many colors of the never-fading rainbows of the falls," he glanced over at Rainbow Dash, "Even brighter than that dyed mane of yours."

Rainbow's eyes went wide in surprise before narrowing directly on the pony across the stall, "Dyed? You think I dyed this? This is natural, thanks."

The salespony laughed, "Alright, whatever you say, kid. But I'll tell ya, this stone... It's quite amazing. A stone that can glow like a rainbow. Good luck, I tell ya!"

Fluttershy's eyes glowed with wonder, "How much for one?"

"Nope," Rainbow said, looking at Fluttershy, "We need to find food, Fluttershy... Not some supposed glowing rainbow rock that's _supposed _to bring good luck," she looked at the salespony, "Thanks, buddy. But no thanks."

The salespony shrugged, "Eh, your choice. Good luck finding food around here, though, with the food shortage and everything..."

Rainbow blinked, "Food shortage? What do you mean?"

"Well," the pony began, "all the crops have been dying, and no pony knows why. Some sort of plant virus or something."

Rainbow groaned, "Oh, great! We're down supplies and there's none in sight... Is there anypony around here that would have any to spare?"

The salespony looked off into the distance and pointed at a large house on a hill, just outside of town, "The mayor lives up at that house on the hill. He may have some, if he hasn't already given it out to the villagers."

Rainbow nodded, "Alright, thanks," she motioned for Fluttershy to follow, "Come on, Fluttershy, we have a mayor to talk to."

Fluttershy nodded slowly and followed, "Do you think that the mayor will have anything to spare?"

Rainbow continued at her pace, "I hope so, otherwise we're not going to have much food. I mean, you had the most food out of all of us. Most of mine was bad... And Spitfire didn't bring any, but had plenty of bits to buy more. But we can't find food to spend the bits on... So if the mayor doesn't have food, then we only have what little I have... Guess we could eat grass if we had to..."

Fluttershy sighed sadly, "I'm sorry..."

Rainbow shook her head, "Don't worry about it... yet."

The duo made their way up the winding dirt path along the hill, stopping at a wooden gate. Rainbow tried to open the gate with little success, before finally opting to jump over it. Fluttershy flew over.

Rainbow Dash looked around the yard as she made her way to the large house in front of her, "Nice place this guy has."

Fluttershy nodded, "Yes, but it's kinda... barren? There's not even a single tree on his property..."

Rainbow shrugged and stepped up on the porch, "You can complain to him if it upsets you... But let's ask about the food first."

Rainbow walked up to the door and knocked. After a moment of no answer, she knocked again, this time slightly harder.

Fluttershy looked around, "Do you think he's home?"

Rainbow knocked again, "I don't know... I-" the door opened, revealing a tall stallion with lime-green coat and blond mane. Rainbow looked up at him, "Uh, hey! You wouldn't happen to be the mayor, would ya?"

The stallion nodded, "I am. Can I help you?"

Rainbow jumped away from the door slightly and straightened herself. She smiled, "Yeah, we'd like to talk to ya about possibly obtaining some food?"

The mayor shook his head, "I have none to give. The town has seen a shortage of food in the past week, and we're trying to survive with what we've got right now."

"Oh," Rainbow said with a sigh, "Well, hope the village finds some food, then. We won't be going back to where we come from for another week at least... But we'll be sure to see if they can send any food your way when we go back."

The mayor nodded and smiled, "Thank you. We would be very grateful for any assistance. At least until we are able to pick ourselves back up. We're not in too desperate a state right now, but I'd say a week longer, and we may be hurting."

Rainbow nodded, "No problem, I'll see what I can do."

The mayor nodded again with a smile and closed the door.

As the door latched shut, Rainbow turned to Fluttershy, "We should go find Spitfire. If there's no food here, we need to find some somewhere else."

Fluttershy nodded and followed Rainbow back to the village market. They looked around for a sign of Spitfire.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy!"

They turned around; Spitfire walked up to them with a neutral face.

Rainbow grinned, "Hey, we were coming to find ya. Find out anything?"

Spitfire shook her head, "Not a thing. I did talk to one pony who had told me about food shortages in the village. Says they started about a week ago."

Rainbow sighed, "Yeah, we've heard about them, too... There's no food for purchase here. With Fluttershy's bags empty, we're not gonna have food for the rest of the trip."

Spitfire nodded, "Don't worry, we'll have to meet up with Soarin's group soon. We'll see if they have any food for us, at least enough for us to head up to Newpony to get supplies there... Hope you like kelp, because that's basically all they have."

Fluttershy looked at her, "Kelp is okay. I've only had it once."

Rainbow sighed, "I'm not huge on kelp... Do they have anything else?"

Spitfire laughed, "Maybe, it's a fairly large town. Just saying that they mostly have kelp, being right beside the ocean and all. Anyway, back on track; no pony has seen or heard of the two-legged strangers, which suggests that they either have not expanded as far as we originally thought, or they didn't land in this area," she nodded up to the sky, "In any case, we'll find out more when we meet up with Soarin', so we should probably go."

Rainbow nodded, "We're ready."

Spitfire turned to launch herself into the air, "Okay, let's go."

* * *

Fluttershy flew several feet behind Rainbow Dash and Spitfire, keeping up with their slowed pace. She glanced down at the ground far below and gulped. She had gotten better about her fear of heights, but it still didn't help to be at cloud level for so long. She turned her attention to what was in front of her, trying to keep her eyes off the ground.

Fluttershy sighed, _So long... How long has it been since we left Buckingham? It has to have been a few hours, at least..._ She looked ahead at the two pegasi in front of her, _I wonder if we can stop for a break soon... I'm hungry,_ she felt the fatigue in her wings, _and tired... _She slowed her pace and panted slightly.

Rainbow turned her head to check on Fluttershy and sighed, "Hold on, Spitfire... We need to wait for Fluttershy."

Fluttershy caught up and stopped, "Um, could we stop to take a break, please?"

Rainbow nodded and turned to Spitfire, "What do ya think? Do we have time?"

Spitfire nodded, "I think we do, we still have several hours before we have to meet with Soarin's group at the nearby Snow Peaks camp. I think we can afford a half-hour break."

Rainbow nodded and looked around for a place to rest, "There's a cloud. We can rest on that," she motioned for Fluttershy to follow and they made their way to the nimbus.

Fluttershy landed on the puffy, white cloud and settled herself down into a relaxed sit, "Thank you. My wings were getting tired," her stomach growled, "And maybe I was getting a little hungry, too."

Rainbow sat down and looked through her bags, "Well, we haven't eaten anything today. Now's as good a time as any, I guess. What do you guys want? I have... Apples, hay, oats, and some random vegetables."

Spitfire made herself comfortable and shrugged, "Eh, whatever is fine."

Rainbow tossed her an apple and turned Fluttershy, "What do you want?"

Fluttershy thought about it, "What vegetables do you have?"

Rainbow searched through the bag, "Uh, I have some carrots, some celery... And that's it."

"I'll take a carrot," Fluttershy said with a smile.

Rainbow tossed her a carrot, which she almost dropped. Rainbow rolled her eyes and looked into the bags with a sigh, "I sure hope Soarin' has some food; we're running out fast," she grabbed herself an apple and closed the flaps on the bag and fastened them, "And I wonder what happened to all the food in Buckingham... It doesn't make sense that they'd just run out all of a sudden."

Fluttershy finished chewing her bite of carrot, "Do you think it has anything to do with the strangers?"

Spitfire swallowed her bit of apple, "I'm willing to bet they have something to do with it. I mean, think about it. They say the crops started dying around a week ago, right?" the others nodded, "Well, we've been traveling for about two days at the speed that we've been going. I'd say that the Snow Peaks messenger, Swift Passage, got to Canterlot from the main Snow Peaks outpost in about the same time. He said he left for Canterlot after they realized the strangers were a problem, which means they were probably here for a couple days before..." she stopped to think about it.

Rainbow picked up where she left off, "Which means that they would have arrived at around the same time as the food shortages in Buckingham!"

Spitfire nodded, "Exactly. They may have brought plant viruses with them from wherever they came from... But it still doesn't make sense. Buckingham is several hours away from the shore, how would the crops get infected so quickly?"

Fluttershy finished her carrot, "Maybe it's just coincidence then."

Spitfire sighed, "Yeah, it would have to be... As far as I can tell, there's no plant life between here and Buckingham that's infected, so-"

A noise echoed from the ground below them.

Spitfire blinked, "Was that... a whinny?"

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy nodded. Rainbow slowly made her way to the edge of the cloud, "And voices-" she poked her head over the edge and gasped, "Oh my gosh..."

Spitfire made her way to the edge of the cloud and peeked over before pulling Rainbow back a little bit, "Shh! Don't draw attention to us."

Rainbow nodded and peeked over the edge again. She whispered, "Well, the messenger was right about one thing... They do have horses."

Fluttershy's eyes widened and she made her way to the edge to investigate, "Are they what-" she gulped, "what I think they are?"

Rainbow nodded at her and glanced back down at the ground, "The creatures that Swift Passage was talking about."

Far below the cloud, three of the two-legged strangers rode on large horses along a break in the woods around them that passed as a road. The one in the front rode on a brown steed, and wore heavy armor that covered a majority of his body; his head was left bare, allowing his shoulder-length hair to flow in the wind. On his side was a long, double-edged sword, neatly sheathed in a scabbard. The creatures in the back wore different attire. The one on the left rode on a black horse and wore lighter armor of dyed, green leather. He had a bow slung around his back, and a knife sheathed at his waist. The final creature seemed much older than the rest; he had long, gray hair and a rough beard. He rode on a white steed and wore better-stitched clothing of purple and white, topped off with chain mail across his chest. He had a knife sheathed at his side as well.

The ponies looked at each other before glancing back down at the unsuspecting creatures below.

The heavily-armored creature in the front spoke up in a gruff voice, "Bah! All we've found so far are strange creatures; nothing even close to intelligent!"

The old man spoke up, "And that's a bad thing? It's good that there are no other humans here. They would just interfere with our colonization efforts if there were. We would have to be diplomatic if there were humans here."

Rainbow Dash looked at her two companions, "Humans? I guess that's what they are?" she glanced back down at the humans.

The armored human continued his ranting, "But, that's no fun! We're not getting much action right now. Just scouting around for nothing."

The old man shook his head, "This is _not_ for nothing, Des. We need to scout for resources: food, fresh water, valuable metals."

Des groaned, "Fine, fine... But still, does it have to be so-" Des cried out as his brown steed flipped him over it's head and collapsed to the ground. Des landed several feet in front of it in a jumbled pile of metal.

The rest of the humans dismounted and walked to the fallen horse. The old man knelt down beside the leather-clad human and looked at the horse, "Status, Adler?"

Adler moved the horse's foreleg, causing it to flinch in pain, "Broken leg I think, Gale."

Gale nodded and placed a hand gently on the horse. A faint white glow surrounded his hand and the horse's body. He put on a look of concentration as the glow pulsed from his hand. After a moment, the glow faded and he rose to face Des, "My specialty is not in healing magics. There's nothing I can do for the horse."

Des roared in anger and kicked the horse with a metal-tipped foot, "Stupid horse!"

Fluttershy gasped and Rainbow launched herself from the cloud. Spitfire grabbed her tail with her teeth and pulled her back.

Rainbow looked at her angrily, "What? We have to help him!"

Spitfire sighed heavily and shook her head, "Did you hear them? They don't know about us... That puts us at an advantage. These humans are clearly violent creatures; let's not blow our cover and lose that advantage."

Fluttershy gulped and looked down at the scene, "I hope he's okay..."

Des spat on the ground and walked over to the side of the path, "Well, I've got just the remedy to take the pain out of that leg..." he picked up a large stone the size of his head and walked back to the group.

Adler shook his head, "What are you doing, Des?"

Des grunted and lifted the rock over his head, "I'll show you what I'm doing. Putting a damned, worthless horse out of its misery!" he threw the rock down.

_Thud._

Fluttershy gasped audibly, "No!"

Rainbow and Spitfire's jaws dropped. Rainbow shook her head, "He... I can't..." she tried launching herself from the cloud again. Spitfire pulled her back once more. Rainbow growled and tried kicking her off, "What are you doing? Let me go!"

Spitfire pulled her back harder, causing Rainbow to crash back down to the cloud, "We-we can't yet. We'll see what we can do for the horse when the humans are gone..."

Rainbow sighed, "_If _we can do anything... I hope you know what you're doing, Spitfire... Because I sure as hay don't..."

They looked back over the edge and gasped.

Gale had his hand raised in a fist; a white glow surrounding it and Des, who was floating in the air. "What do you think you're doing? We do _not_ behave as savages, Des!" he looked down at the motionless horse and shook his head, "We could have done something for the steed, Des. Do you not have enough brains to realize that?"

Des strained against the magic surrounding him, "Alright, I'm sorry! Just... let me down!"

Gale grunted and released his grip, allowing the armored human to fall back to the ground with a _thud_. He walked over to Des and brought his head up to face him with his hand, "If you commit such mindless violence again, I will use that armor of yours and crush you with it."

Des nodded and rose to his feet, "Alright, point taken," he looked at the horse and shook his head, "Well, we can take it back to camp for a weeks worth of food, I guess."

Adler mounted back on his horse, "We could, but we should continue to search for other resources. I, myself, wouldn't mind deer for tonight's supper."

Gale nodded and mounted on his steed as well, "Yes. If we are unlucky with the catch, we can come back for the horse. That is if the wildlife hasn't gotten to it first," he looked at the horseless Des, "You get to work your legs a bit. Follow beside us."

The humans continued on at a trot, with Des jogging alongside them, leaving the fallen horse where it lay.

When the humans were a safe distance away, the ponies flew down to where the horse lay.

Fluttershy knelt down by the horse; a small pool of red began to paint the grass beneath it. She swallowed hard and gently placed a hoof on the horse's side, tears building up in her eyes, "I-I..How can..." she swallowed again.

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire walked up to join her by the horse. They looked down at him sadly.

Fluttershy gently pet the horse's side and gasped; the horse slowly opened it's eyes. It made no noise. It didn't try to resist. It just stared with pained eyes. Fluttershy blinked, releasing her built-up tears, "Oh, you poor thing..."

Rainbow looked down at Fluttershy, "Hey... You okay?" she asked gently.

Fluttershy bowed her head and shook it, "No... No, I'm not..." she continued to pet the horses side and spoke to it softly, "I-it'll be okay, big guy. I-I know that there... that there's a lot of pain. But-" she sniffled, her tears landing on the horse, "But it'll be over soon..." she broke down and sobbed, "I promise it will be..."

Spitfire looked at Rainbow, "Is... there anything we can do?"

Rainbow slowly shook her head, "I don't think there is anything we can do... Just let Fluttershy do this... She's had to do this before with animals..."

Fluttershy shot her a look, "I have?" she spat out through pained sobs, "I've never had to see a creature hurt or-or killed from violence..."

Fluttershy turned back to the horse and tried to put on a comforting smile, "Close your eyes and go to sleep... There won't-" she sobbed again, "won't be anymore pain... I promise..."

The horse blinked at her slowly with pained eyes. Fluttershy lowered her forehead down to lay on the horse's torso, feeling it raise and lower with his shallow breathing. She swallowed and sang to him softly:

"Go to sleep and brave the darkest night,

And soon you'll wake to the morning's light.

Don't be scared, embrace your dreams,

And all will be as it seems.

A morning warm and full of shine

You'll wake up and all is fine.

So go to sleep and brave the night,

And wake to day's morning light..."

Fluttershy finished her song and gasped at the stillness she felt. She lifted her head slightly to look into the horse's eyes; all life had left those innocent eyes. She had sent him on his way to find peace. She laid her head against his body and cried openly.

Rainbow looked at Spitfire before kneeling down beside Fluttershy. She looked down at the horse and opened her mouth to speak, before shaking her head and looking at Fluttershy. She gently placed a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder.

Fluttershy shot up and launched herself into Rainbow, taking her into a pained embrace.

A tear ran down Rainbow's face as she returned the embrace of her mourning friend, "It'll be okay... I promise."

Spitfire looked at them sadly before turning to face the direction the humans had gone. She sighed, "I know this is a bad time... But we need to follow those humans before they do more harm-"

Rainbow held up a hoof up to her, telling her to give them a few minutes first.

Spitfire opened her mouth to speak before closing it and nodding.

Rainbow nodded and let Fluttershy continue her grieving, "It _will _be okay..."

* * *

Spitfire led the others along the path the humans had taken an hour before. She sighed, "Where did they go? I know they came this way!" she looked around and motioned for the others to fly with her above the trees.

Rainbow Dash flew behind with Fluttershy. She looked at her friend, whose eyes were still swollen from the incident earlier, "Hey, how ya holding up?"

Fluttershy looked at her, "I think I'm okay now... But that image, it's..." she sighed, "It's still stuck in my head, Rainbow Dash. I want it to go away, but it won't. I just see..." she shook her head, "I just want to make sure the humans don't hurt any more creatures..."

Rainbow nodded, "Don't worry, we'll stop them... Though, I don't know how with Spitfire keeping us from doing anything..."

Spitfire looked behind her, "We can scare them off without alerting them to our existence."

"How, though?" Rainbow asked.

Spitfire looked ahead, "Well, think about it. We're pegasi; we can manipulate weather. We can bring in storm clouds and use them as cover."

Rainbow nodded, "Yeah, I've thought about that. Only one problem: where do we get the storm clouds?"

Spitfire sighed, "True... We'd need storm specialists from Cloudsdale, wouldn't we?"

Rainbow laughed, "Well, little do you know, I'm a storm specialist. Not officially, but I know my way around storm clouds... The problem is that the storm clouds are manufactured and packed with electricity on site... So we can't just make them out of thin air."

"Oh," Spitfire nodded, "And that's why I'm a Wonderbolt, and not a weather pony..."

A shriek echoed through the woods, causing the ponies to stop. Fluttershy gasped.

Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, "What was that?"

Fluttershy flew off in the direction of the sound, the others followed. Fluttershy looked behind her, "That sounded like a forest creature... Maybe a deer."

Rainbow gasped, "That means the humans are nearby!"

Spitfire flew ahead of them and stopped, causing them to do the same, "Which means we're taking to the skies, come on!"

Fluttershy bit her lip and followed them, "But... the deer!"

Spitfire nodded, "Don't worry, we'll find a way to help the deer... I won't let what happened to the horse happen again!"

They followed the sounds into a clearing, right up against a lone cliff. Spitfire looked around, "I thought it came over here..."

Rainbow looked down, "Maybe it went into that cave- Wait, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy dove down through the clearing, into the cave.

Rainbow groaned, "Come on, Spitfire!" she flew down after Fluttershy, with Spitfire in tow.

The interior of the cave was cold and damp, as well as dark. But as they walked deeper in, the cave lit up; crystals glowed in red and blue, green and yellow, providing enough light to maneuver.

Rainbow looked around in awe, "What is this place?"

Spitfire shrugged, "I have no idea... But where's Fluttershy?"

Rainbow shook her head, "I don't know... Fluttershy!" she called out, her voice echoing against the cold, stone walls of the cave. After a moment, she called again, "Fluttershy! Where are you?"

"I'm in here," Fluttershy's voice echoed through the caves.

Rainbow and Spitfire followed the sound and found Fluttershy, alone, in a large chamber with many glowing, colored crystals hanging from the ceiling.

Rainbow ran up to Fluttershy, "That was a bit reckless, don't ya think?"

Fluttershy sighed and nodded, "Maybe... but I was worried about the deer... But, look at this place!"

Rainbow grinned, "That salespony in Buckingham was talking about stone that glowed the colors of a rainbow... He'd probably love this."

"Did you see that?" a voice echoed through the caves.

Spitfire shushed Rainbow and Fluttershy.

"Yeah, were those little flying horses?" a gruff voice asked.

"Not quite, Des. But I'd say that they were equines..." and older voice said.

"Well, they sure were strange..."

"Des, we're in a land with a ton of strange creatures," a third voice echoed.

"Shut it, Adler."

"Well, either way, they went into the cave with that large, winged beast with scorpion tail..."

"The manticore, you mean?"

The ponies' eyes widened.

"Whatever you call it, Gale... It's still dangerous."

"That it is, we'll destroy the entrance. It won't be able to get out then."

"But what about the deer?"

"We'll go back for the horse, it's getting late... Now stand back while I charge my magic."

Rainbow gasped, "We have to get out of here!"

Fluttershy looked around the room, "But, what about the deer? We can't just leave it in here!"

Spitfire pulled her toward the entrance, "We don't have time, Fluttershy, we have to-"

A loud explosion shook the cave, causing the ponies to fall to the ground. Stones and glowing shards of crystal crashed to the ground around them. After a few moments, the shaking ceased and all became quiet.

Spitfire looked around at the mess and helped Fluttershy up, "Is everypony alright?"

Rainbow nodded, "Yeah, but I have a bad feeling about what just happened."

Spitfire nodded, "Let's head to the exit... Though, I'm afraid to see what we may find..."

The ponies ran to the exit and stopped at a rock wall.

Rainbow walked to the wall and placed a hoof on it, "Please tell me we took a wrong turn..."

Spitfire sighed and shook her head, "We didn't..."

Rainbow turned around and bucked the wall as hard as she could manage. A stone fell to the ground.

She exhaled deeply and lowered herself to the ground, "So... we're trapped in a cave with a manticore and barely any food to survive on..."

Spitfire nodded slowly, "Well, once we don't show up to the meet with Soarin', he'll search for us... If he doesn't find us, he'll send one of his team back to Canterlot to brief the princesses..."

Rainbow sighed and laid her head back against the wall, "We're doomed..."


	8. Chapter 08: Stranded

**Chapter Eight: Stranded**

Scootaloo laid on the couch in Fluttershy's cottage out of boredom. It was still early in the morning, and Apple Bloom had thought that there would be crusading to be had by helping Twilight and Spike with taking care of Fluttershy's animals. Sadly, that didn't seem to be the case.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sat on the floor in front of the couch playing a matching game with cards. Scootaloo glanced across the room at Spike, who was relaxing across a green-cushioned chair, his legs and head resting on the armrests. She lifted her head and glanced at the dining table; Twilight sat on one of the wooden chairs, double-checking notes that Spike had taken for her.

Sweetie Belle pressed a button on the matching machine; a picture of a purple-bordered triangle appeared in a frame on the other side.

Apple Bloom shook her head, "Nope, wrong again."

Sweetie Belle lowered her hoof and sighed, "Why do I never get it right?"

Apple Bloom shrugged, "I dunno. Try again!" she flipped over another card, out of Sweetie Belle's view.

Sweetie Belle looked at the buttons in thought before pressing one. A picture of a yellow circle appeared in the frame on the other side.

"You got it!" Apple Bloom exclaimed excitedly.

Sweetie Belle smiled widely, "Really?"

"Nope," Apple Bloom laughed, causing Sweetie Belle to look at her angrily.

Scootaloo rose up and hopped off the couch, over her two friends, and landed on the other side to face them, "You know, I thought we were trying to get our cutie marks as animal caretakers..."

Apple Bloom looked up at her, "Well, we were, but... There ain't anything we can help with."

Scootaloo sighed and turned to face the dining table, "Twilight? Is there _anything_ we can help with? It's boring just sitting here doing nothing..."

Twilight glanced up from her paper and chuckled, "If you want to go, you can. I'm not going to stop you. Spike and I can handle the animals, I'm sure. Right, Spike?" she glanced over at the baby dragon laying on the chair, "...Spike?" she heard faint snoring and sighed, "Okay, well... I can take care of the animals, at least."

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom made their way to where Scootaloo stood.

Sweetie Belle looked between her two friends, "Well, we could go to the Carousel Boutique and see if Rarity needs help with anything."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "Yeah, only the same things we've done a million times before."

"Oh!" Apple Bloom said, running toward the door leading outside, "We could go help at the farm! The zap apple harvest is comin' soon... Or we could help with the new field that Big Macintosh is plowin'!"

Scootaloo walked outside with the others following behind her, "I kinda like that idea... But how are we supposed to help with plowing?"

"Those plows are probably very heavy..." Sweetie Belle added.

Apple Bloom sighed, "Oh, yeah..."

Scootaloo shook her head, "Aw, forget it. I think I'm gonna take a break from crusading for today and go ride my scooter some."

"You've been ridin' yer scooter a lot, though, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom complained.

Sweetie Belle nodded, running up beside Scootaloo, "Yeah! We haven't been doing _any_ crusading for the past few days."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders made their way down the dirt path of Fluttershy's cottage. Scootaloo glanced at them and ginned, "Yeah, well... I've been trying to strengthen my wings."

"Oh!" they said in unison.

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow, "Wait, how does riding a scooter help with your wings?"

Scootaloo opened her wings and let them flap wildly for a second, lifting her inches off the ground, before finally stopping. She looked at them again, "Like that! I use them to move faster while riding."

"Oh," Sweetie Belle laughed slightly, "Yeah... Kinda forgot about that."

The crusaders traveled along the path, across the field, and into town. Ponyville was busy, with ponies still heading off to work in the early-morning hours. They made their way down the cobblestone roads of town, easily avoiding the occasional work cart.

They turned a corner and entered the town square. Scootaloo gasped and stopped in her tracks, causing Apple Bloom to bump into her.

Sweetie Belle stopped, "What's wrong, Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo glanced at her and pointed at the town hall, "Nothing's wrong. Look!"

A pegasus mare with white coat and a curly mane of dark and light-blue walked toward the town hall at a hurried pace. She was unique among the crowd of ponies, though. She wore the familiar blue and yellow uniform of the Wonderbolts.

Scootaloo ran toward the unsuspecting Wonderbolt, with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle chasing after her. Scootaloo looked around quickly before setting her gaze back on the Wonderbolt, who was walking up the steps to town hall, "Wait!"

Everypony around her stopped what they were doing and looked at her. The Wonderbolt had stopped at the top of the stairs and was facing her as well.

Scootaloo stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at her excitedly, "You're a Wonderbolt!"

The Wonderbolt pulled up her goggles and looked down at the orange filly. She nodded, "Yeah, I am. I'm High Winds."

Scootaloo nodded eagerly, "Hey, High Winds!" she looked around the square, "Are there any other Wonderbolts here? Oh! Is Rainbow Dash here? Or Spitfire? Oh yeah, and Fluttershy, too!"

High Winds opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the excited little filly.

"Ya see, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire said they would help me learn to fly when they got back! Rainbow told me to keep working my wings until she got back, which I've been doing! I've been waiting for them to come back. I was _so _excited and-" she looked up at the saddened look on High Winds' face and stopped her energetic talking, "What's wrong?"

High Winds sighed, "I'm looking for the mayor. I need to speak with her real quick before heading back to Canterlot..."

"What for?" Scootaloo asked, "Where's Rainbow Dash and the others?"

High Winds shook her head, "It would really be best if the mayor or somepony else told you..."

Scootaloo held her ground and looked at High Winds with narrowing eyes, "No, I want to know now!"

High Winds looked behind her at the entrance to the town hall for a moment before sighing and looking back at Scootaloo, "Fine... We all were divided up into teams to scout out the coast for... anomalies. Three days ago, we were supposed to meet with the captain's group, consisting of herself, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy..." she looked at the ground and sighed, "... They never showed up for the meet. We searched the area that they were to scout... We couldn't find them anywhere."

Scootaloo's eyes widened.

High Winds continued, "Finally, after looking for the whole day, the search was called off by Soarin'. We landed at a nearby camp and informed the ponies of Snow Peaks about the missing team. They promised to keep a look out for us..." she exhaled heavily, "There's a possibility they're still alive... But there are very dangerous creatures by the shore right now. We... fear the worst."

"But..." Scootaloo said, her mouth hanging open in shock, "How... No, I don't believe you."

High Winds shook her head, "I wish I didn't believe me, too. I'm sorry," she half turned toward the door and looked back at the shocked fillies, "I don't have much time, I need to speak with the mayor quickly before going to Canterlot to inform the royalty. Again... I'm sorry, and I hope things _do_ turn out for the better," she turned the rest of the way to walk to the entrance and disappeared behind the door to town hall.

Sweetie Belle swallowed hard and forced herself to speak, "They're... gone?"

Apple Bloom looked at the ground and shook her head, "Th-that can't be right... We need ta tell everypony..."

Scootaloo turned to them angrily, "What? You're just giving up? Just like that? You hear that they're... that they're gone and you just believe it?"

Apple Bloom looked up from the ground sadly, "But.. she said-"

"I don't care what she said!" Scootaloo shouted, "She's gotta be lying... Rainbow Dash wouldn't just disappear and..." she shook the thoughts out of her head, "She's not gone! Her, or Fluttershy... They can't be. I _won't_ believe it!" she turned around and ran off.

"Wait!" Sweetie Belle called out.

"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom shouted.

Scootaloo ignored them and continued on at a run, _She wouldn't just... disappear. She promised me she'd come back... She promised!_

* * *

Rainbow Dash grunted as she pushed against the dull, gray rocks that blocked her way to freedom. She repositioned her hind legs and pushed again, straining to move the seemingly-loose stone in the barricade. She let out a disgruntled sigh and kicked the rock, before settling herself back down against the wall. She laid her head back gently, "Ugh, stupid rocks... We never get along."

She lifted her head slightly and glanced at Fluttershy as she whimpered quietly in her sleep. _Poor Fluttershy. She's had it rough these past few days... Having to deal with the horse, and then the deer... and now this. And she's been beating herself up for us not having food... Even if it is kinda her fault..._

She looked at the saddlebags beside Fluttershy and sighed. They had run out of food the first night in the cave after finding the injured deer. When they found it, it had been lying in a corner in one of the many snaking tunnels in the complex of caves, an arrow protruding from it's shoulder. It had been weak and hungry from it's run, and barely flinched when they approached.

They had opted to let Fluttershy feed it a little of what they had left, hoping that she didn't have to go through what she had before. When they ate their last meal, Fluttershy had asked if they could stay with the deer for the night, so she could keep an eye on it. Spitfire had agreed to it and they set up camp for the night.

Rainbow sighed. She had woken up to Fluttershy crying next to the deer. Apparently it had passed while they slept: Another victim to human violence.

Rainbow slammed her hoof down against the dirt-covered, stone floor of the cave, _Those humans really know how to ruin lives, don't they? Next time I see them... I'll-_

"What's up, Rainbow? You look like you're gonna bite something," Spitfire said, walking into the light from the glowing crystals that they had gathered around.

Rainbow sighed and shook her head, "Did you find anything? A way out, maybe?"

Spitfire shook her head and made her way to one of the walls, and sat back against it weakly, "Nothing. Not a single thing. But I haven't explored everything. There's a few dark caves that actually intimidated me a bit. Don't know if one of them might have the manticore."

Rainbow chuckled and laid her head back.

Spitfire looked at her inquiringly, "What's so funny?"

Rainbow lowered her head and grinned at her, "Spitfire? Intimidated? I can't believe that."A spike of pain enveloped her stomach, causing her to clutch at it with her hooves.

Spitfire lifted herself off the ground, "You okay?"

Rainbow nodded slowly, "Yeah... Just my stomach isn't liking this starving business..."

Fluttershy's head rose from its resting position and she yawned. She looked between the two ponies tiredly, "Did... you happen to find any food?" She sighed when Spitfire shook her head, "Oh... okay," she laid her head back down again and whispered, "I'm so hungry..."

Rainbow sighed heavily and looked at her, "Hey, Fluttershy... I'm sorry for pulling you into this. I shouldn't have. Twilight and the others were right."

Fluttershy raised her head, "But, Rainbow, I chose to come on my own..."

Rainbow shook her head, "No, I used something important to you to bait you in... What has that led to? You being hurt several times. That's not what I wanted. I just wanted you to learn some things to help your flying. Not for you to experience..." she went silent for a moment, thinking about her next words, "I just underestimated the situation. I should have taken it more seriously."

"But, Rainbow-"

"No, Fluttershy..." Rainbow said, laying her head back against the stone barricade, "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be in this situation with me and Spitfire... I'm sorry," she slammed her head against the wall angrily. She repeated the process, as if trying to punish herself.

"Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire shouted, "It's not gonna help us if you go and hurt yourself."

Rainbow sighed and got to her hooves, "Whatever..." she walked over to the saddlebags and looked in them, "There's gotta be a crumb or something in here..." she picked up a looped string, with a metallic object hanging from it. She studied it in the faint light of the crystals, before grinning, "I think I know what I can use this whistle for, Boxcar..."

Spitfire walked over to view it, "What? A whistle?"

Rainbow shook her head, "Nope, freedom!" she held the whistle to her mouth and took a deep breath, letting out a loud and drawn-out whistle. The high-pitched sound echoed against the cave walls, traveling deeper and deeper into the darkness of the caves.

Spitfire sighed at her, "You know, humans could be out there..."

Rainbow shrugged, "Rather have a chance to live by outflying humans that come to help, than sit here and die of starvation."

The whistle's cry faded from existence; a roar answered back, it's echo shaking loose weakened stone on the ceiling.

Fluttershy gulped and looked at Rainbow, "I think you woke the manticore up..."

Rainbow looked down at the whistle and slung it over her head, allowing it to rest around her neck, "Ya know... I haven't seen the manticore at all since we came in here... It has to have eaten in the past couple days," she walked to the edge of the light and turned to face them, "I'm willing to bet that there's another exit out of here that the manticore uses!"

Spitfire nodded slowly, "Sounds logical... But how do you plan on finding it? I'm willing to bet that manticore is probably close to it."

Rainbow lowered her head in thought, before glancing up at Fluttershy, "Hey, Fluttershy... I hate asking this, but... You've reasoned with a manticore before... Would you be willing to try doing that here, while me and Spitfire look around for another way out? Or at least some food..."

Fluttershy gulped, "I... could try..."

Rainbow nodded and looked down at a small segment of blue, glowing crystal. She grinned, "Okay, let's go. I hope that manticore doesn't mind company... Because it's about to get some."

* * *

Twilight had a piece of paper in front of her, held in place by her magic so she could check the list she had made, "Next up on the list, Spike, is to feed the chickens."

Spike groggily made his way past her toward the chicken coop, "I didn't hear any roosters... Can I go back to bed after this?"

Twilight lowered her checklist, "Spike, what happened to your sleeping schedule? You used to always sleep at night... Now you're just as nocturnal as Owloysius."

Spike shrugged, "I don't know. I blame the Gala."

"Spike," Twilight rolled her eyes, "the Gala was almost a week ago. You've had plenty of time to adjust, haven't you?"

Spike yawned, "Apparently not... Anyway, what do we feed them?"

"Oh," Twilight brought the list back up to read it, "Let's see... 'Feed the chickens with the seeds from the smaller barrel.' I guess she meant that one," she glanced over at a grouping of three barrels beside the chicken coop and pointed at the smaller one.

Spike looked at it, "She could have said, 'The darker one,'" he made his way to the barrels and climbed up the chicken wire of the fence, resting atop one of the wooden posts. He pulled up the loosened lid of the smaller barrel, allowing it to fall to the ground. He grabbed a fistful of seeds and threw them out across the chicken coop, "How much do they need?"

Twilight searched the page, "It doesn't say... I'd say to give them two more helpings, just to be safe."

Spike nodded and did as he was told, sending the seeds scattering across the ground to feed the happy chickens.

He hopped off the post and made his way happily past Twilight, toward the cottage.

Twilight levitated the lid back onto the barrel and watched as Spike attempted to leave the scene. She shot a thin beam of magic at the door, causing a thin, translucent barrier of magic to appear.

Spike bumped into it and blinked, "Aw, come on, Twilight! I wanna sleep..."

Twilight shook her head, "Not happening, Spike. You need to get back on a good schedule. So you're going to stay up as long as you can before I'll let you sleep."

Spike groaned and walked back toward her, "Fine... What do we do now?"

Twilight smiled, releasing her hold on the barrier, "Let's see, we've fed the chickens. Check. Now we need to feed the birds... Hmm, 'worms of a certain size?' What's she mean by that?" she glanced up into one of the trees and noticed a nest with several little chicks chirping hungrily. She smiled at them and glanced down at Spike, "I think we need little worms for them..."

Spike sighed and readied his claws, "Okay, I know what you're gonna say," he looked around on the ground for a place to start digging.

Twilight shook her head lightly and smiled, "Maybe after we finish with the chores for today, I'll let you take a tiny nap to help you get through the day. Okay?"

Spike looked up at her and nodded happily, "Will do! I'll find those worms!"

Twilight giggled and began searching the ground as well, "Hmm... But what would be considered small for them... Maybe a couple of inches? Hmm... Guess it'll have to be a-"

"Twilight!"

"-guessing game?" Twilight brought her head up and looked down the path where her name was called from, "Applejack? Apple Bloom?" she smiled and made her way down the path to meet them, "Hello! You coming to help us look for worms, too?" she laughed.

Applejack and her sister stopped in front of her, panting slightly from exertion. Applejack shook her head and looked her in the eyes with a serious gaze.

Twilight dropped the smile, "What's wrong?"

Applejack lowered her head to face the ground and sighed, wondering how to continue, "Twilight..."

Twilight took a step forward, "Applejack, what's wrong?"

"How should I put this..." Applejack shook her head and glanced up at her, "Apple Bloom here had come runnin' back home, hollerin' fer me. She told me that a Wonderbolt had come back from scoutin' 'round the coast."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Already? And only one?"

Applejack nodded slowly, "She had come back ta speak with the mayor about..." she lowered her head and sighed deeply, "I can't believe this, but..."

"But what?" Twilight urged.

Applejack brought her head back up to face Twilight directly, "She had said that Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, an' Spitfire were gone. Missin', just like that..."

Twilight gasped, her eyes widening, "G-gone? Are... are you sure?"

"I thought it was just Apple Bloom's imagination runnin' wild again," Applejack said, glancing down at her younger sibling, "but me and Rarity went ta talk with the mayor... She said the same thing that Apple Bloom did," she looked back at Twilight, "The mayor said that Spitfire's group was supposed ta meet with Soarin's group, but they never showed up. Says that Soarin's group searched all over the place for 'em... Found nothin', though."

Twilight shook her head disbelievingly, "Are you saying it's hopeless to even try..?"

Applejack looked at the ground for a moment before stomping her hoof. She glanced back up at Twilight, "Of course not! Nothin's hopeless... If ya want my honest opinion, I think we should go an' search for 'em. I can't leave 'til tomorrow, though. Have some business ta finish up on the farm."

Twilight nodded, "Okay."

Apple Bloom slowly walked up to her, "Um.. Twilight? Could ya try talkin' ta Scootaloo? She ran off after hearin' the news..."

Twilight nodded again, "Where did she go?"

Apple Bloom thought about it for a moment, "I think she went to her house... At least that's the way I saw her headin'."

"Okay," Twilight said and looked back to where Spike was; he was still digging for worms, completely oblivious to what had happened. She sighed, _I'll have to tell him when I get back... _"Spike?"

Spike stood up and looked at her, "Yes, Twilight? Oh, hello AJ and Apple Bloom!"

"Howdy, Spike!" Applejack said with a forced smile.

Twilight sighed, "Spike, I know I said you could have a nap after work... But I need to go for a bit. Could you look after the animals for a bit by yourself? Please?"

Spike looked around and nodded with a slight sigh, "Yeah, I guess."

"Thanks!" Twilight turned to the others again, "Does Pinkie Pie know?"

Applejack nodded, "Well, Rarity said she'd tell her."

Twilight nodded in return, "Okay, I want you all to meet me at the library in three hours so we can figure out what we'll need."

"Alright, Twi, I'll tell the others," Applejack said.

"Okay," Twilight turned to face town, "I guess I'll go speak with Scootaloo, then."

* * *

Scootaloo laid back on the soft covers of her bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes to block out the light invading her room from the open window.

A knocking came from the door; Scootaloo sighed and rolled over onto her side, facing away from it.

"Scootaloo?" her mother's muffled voice called through the door, "Are you alright, dear? You ran past me without even saying a word."

"I'm fine," Scootaloo said in a forced-neutral voice. She sighed and whispered, "Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not okay..."

"You want to talk about it?"

Scootaloo glanced over her shoulder quickly and saw her mother standing by her bed. She looked at Scootaloo with worry-filled eyes, her mouth was turned downward in a frown, "What's wrong, dear? You can tell me. I'm your mother, after all."

Scootaloo rolled onto her back, "It's about Rainbow Dash..."

"You're still hanging around her?" her mother sighed, "I thought I asked you to stay away from that pony. She's trouble."

Scootaloo shot a piercing glance at her mother, "She and Fluttershy went with the Wonderbolts on some mission..." she jumped off the bed and walked up to the window, lifting herself up to view outside, "They're gone, mom. One of the Wonderbolts, High Winds, came back... She told me that they were missing... Missing! Gone! No pony knows where they are..." she let herself down and looked at her mother with saddened eyes, "She went to go and do something to help everypony... She's _not _trouble."

She glanced down at the ground, contemplating her next words, and whispered, "Rainbow Dash didn't keep me out that night... I was out there on my own. She found me and brought me home, and covered for me so I wouldn't get into too much trouble..."

Scootaloo's mother walked up to her and gently lifted Scootaloo's head to face her, "I'm sorry to hear that, dear... I guess we misjudged her character, then," she removed her hoof and looked down at her daughter, "Now, we'll speak about your lying to us later."

A knocking echoed from downstairs.

Scootaloo's mother looked back toward the door and sighed, "Try not to think about it too much, Scootaloo. Get some rest." she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Scootaloo sighed and hopped back on her bed, "Don't think about it? How am I supposed to do that?" she rolled over on her side again, facing away from the door, to sulk.

A knocking rattled the door.

Scootaloo groaned, "Come in..." The door opened. Scootaloo glanced behind her at the door and gasped. She jumped off her bed and ran towards her guest, "Twilight! Did they find Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy yet?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head, "I only just found out myself, Scootaloo. But we'll be going out soon to search for them. We just have to get the supplies that we're going to need together, since the trip will be long," she looked down at the filly, "I heard you didn't take the news well... Are you okay?"

Scootaloo shook her head, "How can I be? Being told that somepony you really look up to is gone doesn't... It doesn't sit well with me. I mean, they wouldn't just disappear, right? They couldn't... Unless something happened to them..."

"Don't think about it too much, Scootaloo. We don't know what happened, or where they are. But I'm not going to just assume the worst... Not until there's proof..." she lowered her voice, "Oh, Celestia, please let there be no proof..."

Scootaloo turned around and jumped back up on her bed, sitting on the edge of it, letting her hind legs fall over the edge. She let out a deep breath, "Ya know, Twilight... I've never told anypony this, but..." she stopped to think about her words.

Twilight walked over to her, "What is it?"

Scootaloo looked back up at her sadly, "Apple Bloom has Applejack to look up to. They have all sorts of fun. Sweetie Belle has Rarity... I don't have a sister, Twilight... But if I did, I'd want her to be Rainbow Dash. She's just so awesome and..." she stopped, "... and I just want her to be okay."

Twilight nodded slowly and sat on the bed next to her, "We all want her and Fluttershy to be okay, Scootaloo. And we'll find them. But, they have Spitfire. She's a good leader, so I'm sure she'll keep them out of trouble until we do."

Scootaloo nodded slowly, "She and Spitfire said they'd help me learn to fly when they got back. Rainbow Dash told me to keep strengthening my wings, and that's what I've been doing..."

"That's good, then they'll be able to teach you when we find them," Twilight gently smiled at her.

"Twilight?" Scootaloo looked up at her, "Can I go with you guys?"

Twilight blinked at her, "What?"

"Can I go with you to find them?"

Twilight frowned and looked down in thought, "It could be dangerous, Scootaloo... You'd be better off staying-"

"No!" Scootaloo shouted, hopping off her bed, "It's obviously dangerous if there's ponies missing. I don't care, I want to help," she sighed and lowered her voice, "Rainbow Dash stuck up for me a few weeks ago when I was out late. She took the most of my parents' anger for me. She helped me..." she looked at Twilight with pleading eyes, "I want to return the favor. Please, Twilight... Let me help you find her and the others..."

Twilight closed her eyes and frowned in thought, "You're putting me in a difficult position, Scootaloo..."

"Please, Twilight..." Scootaloo pleaded again.

Twilight sighed heavily, "This goes against my better judgment... But I'll talk to your parents, and with Cheerilee, about it..."

Scootaloo jumped up on her bed happily and hugged Twilight, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Twilight! I'll be the best helper ever!"

Twilight returned the hug and smiled, "Yeah, just don't let me regret this..." she looked toward the door and sighed, "Okay, come on so we can go talk to your mother."

* * *

Rainbow Dash walked down the dark, narrowing cavern with a blue, glowing shard of crystal held firmly under her left wing to light the way. Fluttershy and Spitfire followed closely behind her as she led them deeper in.

She stepped over a small stream of water, "Watch your step." They continued on their way through the dark, snaking tunnels until they reached a fork in the path leading in three other directions.

Spitfire took a few steps ahead, studying each of the possible paths, "Go figure this would happen... Well, we'll either have to split up or go down them one by one..."

Rainbow shook her head and grinned, "I've got a better idea. Here, watch this," she lifted the whistle from around her neck and blew into the end. The whistle's shriek echoed against the walls of each of the individual tunnels. After a moment of listening, a roar echoed back a reply from the tunnel to their right, "There we go!" she walked toward it and the others followed.

Spitfire shook her head with a sigh, "You know, it's probably not a good idea to anger a beast that we're going to be facing..."

Rainbow laughed, "Oh, relax! If a little whistle can make this thing mad, that would be kinda sad," _Wait, I got mad at this stupid thing... Maybe she has a point._ She shrugged.

They slowly proceeded down the correct tunnel, careful to not kick any loose rocks on the ground. After several minutes of walking in only the faint blue glow of their crystal shard, they were greeted by numerous bright, and large, crystals scattered across the ceiling of a massive chamber, as well as the pacing of a large, ferocious-looking manticore.

To the right of the entrance to the chamber was a large, stone pillar connecting the floor to the ceiling. Rainbow nodded. She quickly, and quietly, led them to their hiding place.

They inched their heads out from behind the cover of the pillar, observing the active manticore as it continued to pace around the chamber.

It was larger than the one that Rainbow remembered from all that time ago. _And that one was pretty big, jeez. _

Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, who stared at the manticore with fearful eyes. She sighed, "I really hate asking ya to do this, but are you ready to go... reason with it?"

Fluttershy looked at her and gulped, "I-I think so..."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Rainbow said reassuringly, "If anything goes wrong, I want you to run, or fly, as fast as you can away from it. I'll be sure to be there to draw it off you. I promise."

Fluttershy swallowed again and nodded, "O-okay..."

Rainbow turned her head to face Spitfire, who was looking at the beast from the other side of the pillar, "Hey, Spitfire, you ready to go look around when Fluttershy gets it's attention?"

Spitfire looked back at her and nodded.

Rainbow nodded to her, "Okay, Fluttershy, go do your thing."

Fluttershy gulped one more time and slowly made her way out from behind cover.

Rainbow watched her disappear around the pillar, _She's seriously getting braver every day..._ She grinned and made her way to where Spitfire was, "Okay, let's go while we have-"

Fluttershy screamed.

"Shoot!" Rainbow launched herself up and around the pillar, Spitfire following close behind.

Fluttershy cowered in fear as the manticore raised its giant claws to strike at her.

"Hey, you! Ugly!" Rainbow shouted, ramming into it's side, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" she quickly turned to Fluttershy, "Run, Fluttershy! Spitfire, get her back around that- Whoa!" she dodged a swipe from the angered manticore, "Oh, you wanna play like that? Fine! It's on!"

Spitfire helped Fluttershy up and led her back around the pillar, "Okay, Fluttershy. Stay here, we'll take care of the manticore."

Fluttershy swallowed fearfully, "Just... Don't hurt it."

Spitfire sighed, "I can't make any promises, Fluttershy. But we'll see what we can do."

The cave shook as the manticore rammed into the other side of the pillar.

Spitfire looked down at Fluttershy once more, "Okay, just keep still, and keep quiet... Don't draw attention to yourself!" she launched herself back around the pillar to help Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow dodged another series of claw swipes as she flew over the top of the manticore and kicked it in the back of it's head, earning her a rewarding roar from its fanged mouth as it fell to the ground.

Spitfire landed on the ground beside where Rainbow had touched down, "Sorry I'm late. Fluttershy's safe, for now."

Rainbow nodded, "Good, she's never been much of a fighter." The manticore lifted itself off the ground and turned toward her and Spitfire. She grinned, "That all ya got? I'm not impressed!"

The manticore charged forward in rage.

Rainbow glanced at Spitfire out of the corner of her eye, "Go around its right side, I'll go around the left. Let's confuse it!" Spitfire nodded.

The manticore reached them and raised both of its claws to strike. It's rivals made their move. It tried to strike both at once, but ended up flat on its face.

Rainbow laughed, "Oh, that was too good! He sure isn't bright for a cat."

The manticore lifted itself off the ground again, shaking itself off, before turning and roaring at them in rage.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at it, "We've heard that one before, have any new ones?"

The beast bared it's yellow teeth in a snarl and launched itself at them again. The ponies tried the same tactic, but the manticore swung its tail and collided with Spitfire, sending her sprawling across the floor and into the side of the stone pillar.

"Spitfire!" Rainbow shouted. She narrowed her eyes on the beast, "Okay, you want to play rough, huh? Bring it on!"

Rainbow ran toward the manticore. It lifted its right claw and struck down toward her. She unfolded her wings and launched forward, dodging the claw, and struck the manticore under its jaw with a flying uppercut. It's head tilted backward in response. Rainbow quickly took the chance to turn around and bucked him as hard as she could with her hind legs, sending it toppling backwards onto its back.

Rainbow launched herself into the air above it and nose-dove down toward its exposed chest, flipping herself over at the last second and dealing a powerful stomp on its exposed chest with her hind hooves. She used the momentum of the impact to launch herself back off it as if it were a trampoline. The manticore cried out in pain.

Rainbow landed on the ground near Spitfire, "Hey, you okay?"

Spitfire rubbed her head, "Yeah... I think so. My head's killing me, though."

Rainbow quickly checked her wound and sighed, "You're bleeding, Spitfire... I know you're my captain and all, but I'm benching ya."

Spitfire got to her hooves and wobbled slightly. She shook her head, "You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope, afraid not," Rainbow said, "Go check on Fluttershy, and see if you can find something to wrap that... Fluttershy can help you with it."

The manticore slowly got back up. Rainbow looked back at it, "Doesn't want to go down for the count, huh?" she looked back at Spitfire, "I'll handle it, don't worry."

Spitfire sighed, "Fine.. But as soon as I get this looked at, I'm coming back out, you're not benching me for good."

Rainbow grinned, "Good enough," she turned around and made her way to the middle of the chamber, "Ready for round two?"

The manticore shook its head violently and roared.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes, "I'll take that as a-" she launched forward, "-yes!"

The manticore spun around and swung its scorpion tail at her, she narrowly dodged it and grabbed hold with her hooves. It shook its tail and slammed it against the ground, sending Rainbow crashing down.

Rainbow quickly rose to her hooves and ran toward the manticore. It swiped at her with its large claw and spun around to strike again with its tail.

Rainbow's eyes widened, "Uh oh..." the tail struck her and sent her flying across the room, where she crash-landed into the side of the stone wall.

She slowly climbed back to her hooves and looked up with rage-filled eyes. The manticore charged toward her at full speed to finish its kill.

_That's what you want, ain't it?_ The manticore launched itself into the air to pounce, "Well, it's _not_ gonna happen!"

Rainbow unfolded her wings and dashed forward as fast as she could. The manticore followed her movements, watching as she disappeared under it. It slammed head-first into the side of the stone wall and fell to the ground.

The cave began to shake, with rocks and crystals raining down around them. The ground quaked beneath their hooves.

Rainbow made her way across the floor, dodging a barrage of cave debris as it slammed and exploded onto the floor. She frantically searched the room for signs of Fluttershy and Spitfire.

Spitfire pulled Fluttershy away from the pillar as it began to crumble, "Come on, Fluttershy! We have to get out of here!" A large stone toppled down from above them. Spitfire gasped and pushed Fluttershy out of the way while she dodged it herself.

Fluttershy fell to the floor and struggled to get up from the shaking floor. Above her, a large stone loosened itself from its home and fell. Fluttershy looked up and screamed as it closed in.

"Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy was pushed out of the way as the rock struck home. She rolled a few feet before she came to a stop. She lifted her head and gasped: Rainbow Dash lay in her spot, the stone resting beside her. "Rainbow!" she fought against the shaking and crawled to Rainbow's side.

Rainbow lifted her head, a pained look in her eyes. She tried lifting herself up before finally collapsing to the ground. Her vision blurred and darkened.

Fluttershy panicked, "No, Rainbow.. No, no... You can't... Rainbow Dash!"

Spitfire flew toward them and landed beside Rainbow, "Fluttershy, fly toward the exit! I'll get Rainbow Dash. Watch out for the debris!"

Fluttershy nodded worriedly and lifted herself into the air, she flew a few feet away before turning back to watch.

Spitfire lifted Rainbow onto her back and launched herself into the air. She saw Fluttershy idling, "What are you doing, Fluttershy? Go! Get out of here!"

Fluttershy nodded and flew off toward the safety of the stable caves.

Rainbow cracked her eyes weakly. She looked around as the world around her crumbled. Her vision faded into darkness as she fell unconscious.


End file.
